Hero's Bane
Chapter 59: Retain Your Position
Edited 5/4/2022
"You considered me… a friend?" Steve blinked in disbelief, after gazing at Herobrine's current expression for a few more seconds he could tell that the man wasn't lying.
Herobrine's eyelids slanted inward even more from his growing rage. "It was a terrible mistake, just like letting you live for so long. I've allowed myself to cave in to the notion of mercy from your pathetic desire of friendship and accord, I've even gotten to the point that I don't care for the unanswered questions anymore. But the worst part of keeping you alive was allowing my own wish for company to weaken me more. I've never had a problem hunting mortals until you came along. You've changed me somehow. … I should have killed you from the beginning."
"Wish?" So Herobrine wanted a friend? Well maybe not a friend exactly, but just someone to talk to? And did he just say changed? Steve couldn't find the strength to smile from his position but he felt as though he had done something right and actually succeeded at it for once, he was making the immortal more human again; though Herobrine would obviously disagree.
He continued to wonder what was eating at Herobrine's nerves, the being looked tense and maybe even a little anxious; which was bizarre enough. It didn't help that he threw the word 'suffer' out there, that confused him. Taking the blame for making no killings also puzzled him. Steve didn't remember telling Herobrine to not go out there and kill, he surely didn't follow the being to make sure he did not take a life. So he didn't know as to why his powerful duplicate didn't claim a life of a single person or why it was 'his' fault, and not even why the powerful entity was going to be severely punished for not collecting the souls. There was something strange going on with Herobrine and Steve was completely clueless, he needed an explanation.
"I will never collect enough souls in time now and for failure; I am going to suffer great punishment. But before that happens I am going to make sure that you pay as well." He muttered darkly in the miner's mind, making the man tremble from the threat and movement as the being drawled his captive back and rammed the miner into the wall again.
Steve instantly coughed from the impact and then hacked out the hot stale air in his lungs to get the particles of Nertherbrick out. He then twisted his neck around enough to look at Herobrine with his left eye despite the strong clamp and the painful pulling of skin, he was too focused on Herobrine's rage and possible fear to worry about himself eating brick. "Wait!" He cried out reached a hand up and back behind him, he weakly clasped his fingers over Herobrine's wrist to get his attention and stop him from repeating his action and causing more damage.
He dared not to pull out his lucky blade from it's scabbard though it was tempting, it was his only weapon of defense. Herobrine was still fuming madly so raising a weapon would only escalate his dire situation, it would probably get him killed quicker so there was no need to settle the matter with violence considering he'd be on the losing end and that would be guaranteed. Besides, he was apparently Herobrine's friend so he needed to reason with him, or at least give it a shot and help him like a friend should.
"What's forcing you to collect souls? I know that you aren't gathering them for yourself, otherwise you wouldn't be so mad or forced to face punishment." He said through his gritted teeth, letting his own fear fade in hopes of getting through Herobrine's thick skull that he was serious and demanding answers. He didn't want to be the submissive one anymore, if Herobrine was his friend then he needed to help him and face the risks. Even if it meant dying at the hands of his said friend, he did promise to save Herobrine from himself so he still had to keep that.
"I don't have to answer to you mortal." Herobrine hissed.
"You don't have to, but maybe you should." The human irately suggested. "Something is disturbing you, I can see it in your eyes."
Herobrine's narrowed orbs widened for a short second before they thinned again, he shouldn't have been surprised that the miner was on to him; but he was. The miner was starting to piece together his problem and it wouldn't be long before he'd know; that the White-Eyed legend was in fact was being forced, but not only because of his debt that he had honored to pay from the beginning, but because of the threat that looms beyond the Nether and Overworld. One that he couldn't touch. The beast had taken his curse of paralysis and freed him, there were other things that the End lord was capable of that Herobrine himself wasn't. Steve shouldn't know though, there wouldn't be a thing he could do even if he knew everything going on with his debt to the End beast.
"I can help you, friends do that for each other you know?" He said with a soft expression but strong words. Sadly, it didn't change the being's fuming outlook.
"You cannot help me, you can't even help yourself in your pathetic and feeble condition. You couldn't even begin to fathom what kind danger I face, and not even what possible danger you 'now' face. Let alone escape my grasp that you are about to writhe in."
"What kind of danger are you even talking about? How is going out and about; not collecting souls puts 'us' into a compromising condition?"
The White-Eyed man glared heatedly and pressed in a little; which caused the human to gasp and squirm as the back of his neck was uncomfortably bent inward more than it should have been. Herobrine then loosened up his grip as Steve started to flail and lash out roughly against the brick surface with his limbs from the pain and his loss of breath. "I am going to be greatly punished and you will too, given certain circumstances. You don't need to know anything else, so stay out of it."
Steve loudly gasped and relaxed his arms and legs as the force lightened up and he took a deep gulp of hot air before resting the side of his cheek against the wall, he panted quietly to catch his breath. He then lightly gaped in concern as he turned his head enough to see Herobrine's unnerving expression from the corner of his eye, he didn't know what both he and the old hero were about to punished for, but they were in for some real trouble given that worrying and enraged face on the immortal. Steve didn't even know what exactly was disturbing the old hero, but it was obviously something big and it might of made Herobrine scared. 'Herobrine scared?' That just didn't seem right, yet he could see a hint anxiousness masked under the sneer.
"You cannot help me." Herobrine repeated. "You don't know what I'm up against."
If Herobrine would had just said what was causing the threat then maybe he could try to find out something to help him, but the being's confidence was very low which meant that they were going to face something threatening soon. Something powerful no doubt and his help might not even be near enough.
Steve frowned deeply and huffed in defeat, he was clueless as to what threat that 'they' were bound to face and he sort of had a thought that it had something to do with that loud monstrous growl from earlier. He wanted answers so badly but at the same time he was afraid himself after remembering that loud feral snarl. Yet he couldn't give in just yet. "I would know if you just tell me!" He suddenly barked aloud with narrowed eyes and a sneer which was unusual for Herobrine considering that he was almost always submissive when the old hero had him in his grasp.
"I said to stay out of it!" Herobrine pressed again.
"Then tell me anyways! I want answers, stop leaving me in the dark Herobrine! I'm tired of guessing at things!" He lowly growled and noticed that his counterpart had the same dark look and deep growl coming from his throat. "Even if I can't help you physically, I at least want to try and help you face this… this THING… that has you so afraid! It has to do with that loud echoing growl from earlier doesn't it?"
Herobrine angrily snorted and tightened his grasp on the mortal's neck. "I am NOT afraid of anything!"
"Yes… you ar-are Herobrine." Steve stiffened his posture and brought both of his empty hands to pry at the strong vice grip around the back of his neck. "I- I see it in your eye, I hear the changed tone from your words."
Herobrine gnashed his teeth together to the point of pain, he even thought he tasted copper in his mouth.
"St-stop denying it." The miner writhed in the hold and turned his head again towards the beaming lights again. "If you aren't af-afraid … then why… why do you face punish-m-ment?" He choked.
The powerful humanoid lightened his grasp but kept his deep scowl.
Steve took in a deep breath and continued bravely. "You're He-Herobrine! I didn't think there was anyone stronger than you… well… other than Notch."
The old hero could feel his pride breaking, his arms shaking. It infuriated him to no end but he didn't have a comeback or any word of defense of his own power, the beast was an unknown creature and had done a lot from his own sealed realm; including that of warping souls and using them to make Endermen formidable creatures.
"It's okay to be afraid Herobrine, we can think of a way to defeat this punisher. Now please, let go of me."
Herobrine scoffed and then chuckled in hysterics, this human was more foolish then he ever thought possible. "We- defeat him? No, you don't know anything about him or what he is even capable of. I barely know anything myself human. And there is no 'we'." Herobrine shook his head back and forth in disbelief from the miner's words, he couldn't fight his liberator even if he could. Power or not, he owed that beast for helping him escape an eternity of pain and suffering. "I cannot go against him."
"What?! Why!?" Steve asked as he made a toothy frown against the wall.
"Because of one simple thing miner. You don't know anything about my 'debt' to him."
Steve raised a brow with his fading anger. "A debt?" He lightly muttered.
"Yes!" The powerful man suddenly shouted with his teeth barred and then he held out his hand and conjured his enchanted diamond blade of wrath to his hand. He clamped down on the sword handle tightly and kept his fingers firmly coiled as he glanced down at the weapon in his palm.
The miner tensed up as the familiar fizzling sound filled his ears, he couldn't turn his head enough to see the weapon but he knew that Herobrine had his blade at his side now.
"I had made a sort of pact, a promise if you will; with a beast out of the dimensions of this world and yours. He's no weak creature that is for certain."
Steve gaped from this kind of news. He always thought that Herobrine escaped on his own somehow, but it turned out that the old hero was freed by someone… or something else that was more powerful? "What?"
"He proclaims himself as the lord of the End or End lord, he's taken the name of the desolate world that Notch had banished him to; the End realm."
"N-Notch banished- what?"
"Indeed. I apparently wasn't the only one to be an outcast and a rejected creation." Herobrine answered more darkly. "The End beast used to be a creation that the gods prided themselves on, Notch prided himself the most as being the sole creator of a physical and powerful entity with knowledge and power to match the other gods. It was a shame that he grew bored of it."
"Wait. So- so he had made a powerful creature and j-just abandoned it?" Steve said with a shaky tone, almost in utter disbelief from what he was hearing. The Notch he learned about growing up was a kind and open-minded god that loved all of his creations and rewarded his fallen beings with eternal rest in the fabled Aether forever; a peaceful place for 'all' of his creations. Herobrine may have not been a creation of Notch but the beast was, so did he really abandon it because he was 'bored' of it? It just didn't seem right.
"I forgot to mention; the End lord didn't even get a name, he was just sent into a prison one day and cursed to burn from water so that he'd never go back to the Overworld even if he could. His prison is not much different from mine, it's just as desolate. However; mine had all of the rejected mobs that kept me company, poor and violent company that tortured me for years. At least it wasn't so quiet unlike the world he described to me. The cold silence and emptiness there was enough to make him go insane, so that is why he listened to sounds beyond his realm. With his power he eventually found me. We were one in the same, suffering for absolutely no reason whatsoever."
"No." Steve shook his head. "Notch wouldn't do that, he just wouldn't."
"Quit living in a delusion mortal. You probably have nothing to worry about since he takes interest in you weak creatures the most, but then again? … He may just eventually grow tired of your kind as well and make even more inferior beings to push around with love and admiration?" His echoing voice was drenched with sarcasm and venom.
"You're wrong Herobrine! You're wrong!" Steve shouted and wiggled himself free from the hold only to be grabbed by the shoulder and twirled around until he was face to face with the white-eyed man. He was then shoved into the wall again with a hand on his throat and a blade point over his heart. He froze in place and held his breath. Both of his hands moved up to the strangling force and held tightly.
"It matters not if I am right or wrong. Both of us had been sent to nightmarish worlds to suffer for an eternity! We had done nothing to deserve our punishments and yet we got them from Notch himself! That much I know is true! I thought I would give you truth of mine and the End lord's abandonment and punishment. Notch is a cruel deity, a deserter, a traitor." Herobrine sharply narrowed his eyes from the building of rage once again. "A selfish god who punishes his beings and lets them suffer. He let Lionel suffer when he could have easily intervened or smite Brutus for his crimes! Lionel thanked Notch for everything- everyday and was allowed to be killed off so slowly and brutally!" The man's eyes glowed even brighter. "He then threw me into a pit of suffering! To burn forever… after my losing my brother!"
"Please Herobrine, the sword?" Steve's voice went into a higher pitch as the sharp tip was pressed into his chest, not quite cutting or piercing yet but creating a lot of discomfort. He took very shallow breaths to keep the sharp blade from cutting into him, he couldn't move a muscle or it would be the end of him. He removed his eyes from the sword and swallowed a gulp of stale air with Herobrine fuming before him.
He didn't want to believe what Herobrine was saying but he didn't know the truth. He couldn't put doubt in his creator, but the imprisonment of the two beings for no reason seemed to be true. Herobrine was obviously punished with being sent and trapped in the Nether, yet he didn't know much about the End beast's permanent confinement and curse. Still, maybe there was a reason and they just didn't know it? But then they weren't told and so that was unfair.
He wondered what Notch had done and why he did it.
"The End lord heard my curses to that damned name, he heard my sealed voice and spoke to me as I speak to you through your mind. He is the reason I can speak to you at all, the power I was given was from him. The End lord said he had too despised this divinity for he had also been sealed away in a desolate world of silence and torment for absolutely nothing, his own creator abandoned him. He said he heard my cries and felt my pain of loneliness and suffering. He knew of my torment and my own curse and took it upon himself to free me of it as best as he could, in return for a great favor, a debt.
After he broke the paralysis spell, he told me that he would free me of my eternal prison if I was to go and kill Notch's precious human beings and claim their essences that he could use them to anger the god and get retribution. I took the offer as soon as it was given, we both wanted revenge on Notch. It took years after freeing my body to receive a power that allowed me to leave the place at will, years before; I spent my time stumbling around in this tormenting world trying to re-teach myself how to use my powers and to alter my energy to make more better abilities. So overtime I did. I had even adapted to the heat and built upon a stable foundation of bedrock while developing my complete resolve of vengeance, knowing what I must do when I escaped the Nether. The End lord supplied me with some of his own power, he helped in giving me everything I needed to get revenge on mankind. I later returned to the Overworld and unleashed my wrath!"
"So for freedom you took the deal. The debt, that's why you had to kill? Not just because you wanted to but because you had no choice Herobrine?"
"Exactly mortal! The beast sacrificed a lot for me and so I owe it to him until I am clear of his debt, his word must be done until he frees me of our pact. Therefore I will accept punishment from him and will not fight him. I will not break my code, my solemn swear to pay the debt in full and not betray him like Notch did!"
"T-Then what are you going to-to do?" Steve stammered with wide eyes.
"You are holding me back from paying my great debt, you always make memories that I thought were long gone return. Ones that I should have never remembered, ones that keep replaying and distracting me from my mission. Ones that bring back the pain. … Therefore, you must die now!" Herobrine's eyes glowed furiously and he whipped his sword back ready to pierce the pinned miner. "You will hinder me no more miner." He snarled.
Steve gaped. he was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe that it was him to bring back old memories and cause the immortal so much pain, he never had any intentions of doing so. There was still much he could not understand about Herobrine, but if there was anything; then it would be he undying thirst of revenge and hate for mankind that he just couldn't stop. The explanation of the debt helped in clearing up why the old hero was so strict on killing and harvesting souls, it also explained why he was distressed about facing the End lord for not fulfilling his end of the deal. He was afraid to receive punishment from failure. His pride was breaking, resolve rattled.
It was 'his' fault that Herobrine was going to suffer, so watching as the being pulled back his blade didn't make him feel so frightened or worried; just a pang of guilt. Steve felt as though he deserved what was coming to him, though he never knew it was himself that brought back those memories. He couldn't fight against the powerful being anyway so he had to just accept what was coming. He was bound to die at the immortal's hands anyways when he first was brought into the Nether and told that he was eventually going to die here, so he accepted it. Sure Herobrine gave him more time and even came to trust him, but it's all just a waste in the end.
The miner wanted to avoid this point in time but now there was nothing he could do now, his words wouldn't sway the enraged man, and fighting his way out of it was just reckless and futile. Herobrine deserved to get back at him, especially for the punishment he was going to take. Steve closed his eyes and softened his expression, he let his clinging hands fall to his sides and exhaled quietly; waiting for the imminent to happen. If he was at fault then he needed to pay the price.
Herobrine's arm shook as he held the blade, he growled because he could not keep it steady in his grasp. All he had to do was drive it through the mortal's chest but something about the miner's posture and acceptance of fate was making it difficult, he found it hard to move the blade forward for some reason. The human just stood there and let his arms fall to his sides with his eyes closed, like he had accepted his death with no second guessing. Was this what caused this hesitation? Herobrine shook his head back and forth, trying to shake off the feeling of mercy but found it rather complicated. He had to kill Steve, the human made him remember too many things. Things that created pity and brought back the sorrow, things that made him sick inside and so infuriated. Some of those things also brought up more anger and hate to his displeasure. Because of that miner, he failed to kill a single human; every mortal he encountered that night he let go because a guilt that he held onto through the miner.
The human continued to remain still and quiet, eyes still closed. He wouldn't even try to defend himself this time. No flailing, no reasons, no fear reactions, not even a single word muttered.
"Why won't you fight!" Herobrine shouted and ground his teeth from his own reluctance. "To the very end!" He heatedly finished. He couldn't tell if it was his own hesitance or the miner's willingness to just stand there and let himself die that angered him more, especially after fighting nearly his entire time in the valley and Nether just to give up now.
Steve pried one of his eyes slowly to see the diamond blade still hovering in front of his upper chest, it was shaking a little in the being's trembling hand. He then moved his gaze up to Herobrine who seemed hesitant, but he was still enraged with his blazing eyes. He really couldn't fight back, and not just because he was facing someone fifty times more stronger than him but because he didn't want to fight with his friend. Steve suddenly choked as Herobrine squeezed his neck tightly and shook him.
"Answer me damn it! Fight me! Squirm! Kick! Lash out! Just don't stand there and stare!" He huffed. "Be the weak prey that you are and defend your life."
The miner gasped for breath and grimaced until Herobrine stopped, he then forced his squinting eyes open to the seething man. "Not anymore." The man slightly swayed his head from left to right. "I don't have any reason to." He calmly concluded.
Herobrine's frown deepened and his tempered flare died a little. "So you are just giving up then?"
"Giving up? No, that's not quite it. But accepting my fate? Yes. You said it yourself that I would eventually die here, there's no point in fighting you."
"Why?! You want to die?!" He barked in retaliation.
"No, of course not." Steve said looking away. His headache grew with every word roared into his head by Herobrine, but he tried his best to not let it bother him, there were more important things to worry about. "But if it's my fault that the End lord is going to punish you for not fulfilling your debt then I have but no choice to accept my death." Steve then moved his calm blue orbs onto the bright white ones and squinted a little from the intensity. "It would be my fault that you suffer so I deserve what I get, especially after you had so many years of suffering already. "
Herobrine gaped for a short minute before letting his rage die down, his grip weakened again. He tried to force his sword through the miner's chest, but all he could do was just dig the tip in and pull it back quickly after seeing Steve wince and lightly whimper from the sharp point prodding through his covered flesh. That pained face didn't help him in delivering death, it only made his hands tremble even more. The human had closed his eyes again and relaxed his posture, this really didn't help Herobrine. The calm expression looked like his brother's. Not like Lionel's but the one on Anthony's motionless body after he took the soul from the boy. Herobrine removed the sword from the miner's chest entirely and let the blade fall out of his palm and to the Nertherbrick floor.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
The clink of the sword had the miner open his eyes to see the cursed diamond blade now lying on the ground, it slowly fizzled out into dust and vanished shortly from it's spot. He then felt the pressure come off of his neck and he stumbled forward slightly when released, he caught himself with a quick step. Steve looked up from his wobbling legs to see Herobrine's back to him.
"What am I doing?" Herobrine whispered in the human's head before placing a hand upon the side of his head and sighing deeply. -I cannot go through with this. Why?-
Steve sighed quietly in relief and rolled his pained and stiffened neck. He rubbed the back of head to work the stiffness out. Once he felt a little better he took one step closer to Herobrine, reluctant to place a hand on the being's shoulder in attempts to console him. He withdrew his outstretched hand and looked at it. He was still in great danger but he then shook off the notion, Herobrine was his friend. He took another step forward and reached a hand out. "Herobrine?" Steve cautiously asked and got closer, he continued as the old hero began to turn his head. "It's oka-aaaahhhhaaa!" Steve suddenly stumbled forward and then backwards from the brick beneath his feet shifting, he then fell flat on his back and smacked the back of his head into the wall in his fall. He then clasped onto the back of his cranium and winced from the splitting ache he received.
Herobrine quickly spun on his heels and looked down at Steve before shooting a glance towards the ceiling, his eyes went wide as tiny fragments and dust fell. Then he felt a pressure and scowled.
"ERRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" A loud ferocious and beastly roar suddenly erupted throughout the fortress and echoed down the corridors loudly, causing the ground under the old hero's feet to tremble more violently.
"What's happening?"
Herobrine staggered as the quake grew stronger from the echoing roar. He quickly regained his balance only to lose it after the Nertherbrick flooring split from beneath his feet and rose up and then down from the reverberating sound waves that made a lot of the bricks to pop out of place. He fell to his knees and caught himself with both of his arms so that he didn't fully collapse onto the floor. He then looked up from a crackling sound and gaped in horror as a large fracture formed above his head. It started as a small split that quickly crawled to the wall and then down the vertical surface before moving onto the ground and traveling underneath the immortal where it grew even wider. Noticing this, Herobrine suddenly leapt to his side from his spot and rolled over towards Steve after a low cracking sound filled his ears.
He lifted himself onto his feet and then watched as the spot he was at just seconds ago suddenly split from the surface he was now on. Bricks cracked and peeled away from the foundation completely and crumbled down several stories in one large heap; into an ocean of lava below, leaving a large portion of the corridor missing or rather a large hole that was several blocks long. The ends of the walls and floors were splintered from the collapse and a few chunks would break off with the continuous tremors. Herobrine placed a hand on the fractured wall and carefully looked out from the new gap, he gawked after looking up and seeing the first tower above starting to split from down it's side. If it broke in half then the large structure would cave-in and possibly destroy over half of his Nether home or topple over and crush him and the miner, they were both in grave danger. He growled to himself from seeing so much damage that the End lord was causing, he spent so long building the place and now it was shaking and breaking part. His little fit was interrupted from another strong quake that made him stumble again. He held onto the wall and steadied himself until the tremor lightened up.
A loud crashing noise quickly caught his attention. He looked from the gap to see an overhang of one of the rooftops collapse. One of the outer walls of the main structure then peeled away and smacked into another part of his fortress which caused more Nertherbrick to crack crumble, he quickly turned around to find the miner still on the floor and rubbing his aching head and lightly rolling from the trembling floor.
"Stand mortal!" He commanded, but after watching Steve struggle he walked along the wall to keep balance and reached down to grab the human by his forearm and haul him to his feet.
Steve lurched forward from dizziness and yelped as he smacked into the wall again from his poor balance, the ground was unstable and it continued to rumble and rock at his feet and made him totter into the flat surface. He peeled the side of his face from the dusty brick and gasped from the heat wave that hit his skin, it was suddenly hotter than he remembered. He then steadied himself and looked towards Herobrine, though his eyes did not stay on the worried being for long. The miner stared in shock and then moved away from the more secure surface towards the large hole.
"Where are you going?!" He quickly turned around but then glanced in the opposite direction from another sudden creaking sound coming from nearby, another part of the hallway was about to give in from the seismic activity.
Steve gazed in awe as a large pillar on the side of the second tower pulled apart from the sturdy construction and fell flat onto a cluster rooftops that stuck out of the Nertherbrick stronghold, it made a loud crashing sound and caused the floor he stood on to shake more wildly in seconds. "Whoa!" Steve rocked on his heels and his blue eyes went wide in terror as he swung forward and stumbled towards the edge. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" He shouted and tried to keep himself from moving forward but he was immediately knocked off of balance from the shifting ground and went plummeting through the gap in the floor. He closed his eyes and screamed, not wanting to see himself splash into the molten rock far below him.
"No!" Herobrine shouted as he leapt forward.
Steve felt something clasp onto his right ankle and he came to an abrupt halt. His eyes shot open and he found himself swaying lightly over a huge mess of crumbled brick and lava below. He heard a muffled pant and looked up to see Herobrine lying on his stomach while one of his hands were wrapped around his ankle and the other helping him to keep himself stable.
"Why must you be so foolish Steve?" Herobrine gritted his teeth and focused enough energy into his arm before jerking the human up in one go and back into the wobbling corridor.
Steve bit his lip from smacking onto the ground behind the immortal, he wiped away at the coopery fluid seeping into his mouth with the back of his hand and then crawled onto his hands and knees.
"Stay away from the edge!" The ancient man growled and made an effort to stand only to fall back onto his knees.
"Is the End lord doing this?" Steve asked, he then tumbled over onto his side from the sudden large shift that threatened to break off more of the corridor. Another loud roar had the entire hall rumbling wildly. "I guess that answers my question." He quivered.
Herobrine didn't care about answering the miner, he could hear more cracking sounds coming from all around them meaning that the part of the corridor they were in was about to break off and collapse into the ocean of fire. He needed to return to the eye and stop the beast from bringing down the stronghold or the beast itself it was there, the human needed to be in a safe place away from the tower. "Quick! Go back to my chamber!" He demanded while pointing back behind the human. He kept a look out for any new splits in the bricks, more of the corridor was being shook loose and he needed to make sure that the human was back in the safety of a more structural supported place.
Steve didn't have to wait for an answer of his own. He nodded from Herobrine's demand and stumbled onto his feet before bolting down the lengthy rippling strip. He could see the bricks on the ground ahead rise out of their place and fall back into their original spot from the quakes. What frightened him more was seeing the walls rock from side to side so intensely, occasionally having a few bricks or broken pieces of bricks pop out from the awkward sharp bends. It was like he was running through a warping hallway, everything was rocking and bending to the brink of breaking. Watching small red blocks fall from the ceiling didn't help him feel any better about reaching the room at the main end, if the room was doing the same then he was in for some trouble. 'I hope it's more safer in there Herobrine, it's your idea!' Steve held his breath as he got closer to the end, Herobrine should know what was safe. So Steve hoped.
One ripple happened unexpectedly as he moved over the rising surface and he lost his footing from it. He hit the floor painfully and swiftly scrambled to his feet from the sounds of more cracks and crunches around him. The upper corner of the wall on his right side suddenly caved in from the top and he jumped over to his side to avoid the large mass come crumbling down at him, a large block of loose bricks rolled in his path and he leapt over it to avoid slowing down.
He sprinted past the broken chunks of bedrock and ran to the main end of Herobrine's room where the torches were, most of the redstone lights were lying on their sides as if they were shaken from their upright positions. He stopped once he reached the back wall and turned back around to view the ceiling above. Nertherbrick dust floated down from the arched ceiling and the miner coughed after accidentally inhaling the particles. Some of the dust had also gotten into his eyes so he rubbed his stinging orbs and blinked a few times to clear his vision, while blinking he saw something white in the dark end of the room moving towards him. He blinked again and then bumped back into the wall after Herobrine suddenly appeared before him.
"Herobrine?"
"If you want to live then you'll stay in this room, it's one of my more sturdier places." Herobrine said rather calmly. He made the support beams more stronger and the bricks on the walls more compacted to hold together better for when he'd throw a fit of rage like he used to, it almost always held so his resting place was never in disarray.
"But- but what if one of the towers topple into this place? I'll be crushed alive." Steve shuddered as a creaking sound came from above.
Herobrine moved his gaze up then back to the miner. "Then I'll make a place that won't be crushed." He said simply. "Move aside." The miner nodded and moved from the wall as Herobrine stepped up to it. Herobrine placed his palm flat on the surface and closed his eyes, he suddenly reopened them and channeled power into the surface.
Steve gaped in shock as a large five by five block square of Nertherbrick crumbled into dust and disappeared from the wall, he peered inside to see two more layers of brick had been removed and what looked like three layers of plain Netherrack also carved out by the being without a single tool used. He took a step back in astonishment as bedrock suddenly formed out of thin air along the walls and along the ceiling of the hole, soon the inside had been completely encased in the durable stone.
"There, now you will be safe." He turned back towards the miner and his gaze followed the man as he carefully walked into the small tunnel of sturdy stone. "Now stay in there."
Steve watched as Herobrine turned his back to him. "Wait!" He quickly called with a hand reaching out, right before the being could leave.
"What is it? I really don't have the time to answer questions right now." The ancient hero irately asked, he didn't have time for talk. The tower had enough damage when he last saw it and it would only be a matter of time before it either crumbles down or fall flat. He tilted his head slightly to see the miner from the corner of his eye.
"Where are you going?"
"To stop these quakes." He replied with annoyance.
"This all has something to do with the End lord doesn't it?"
Herobrine fully turned around and crossed his arms. "Yes, I have to go and answer to him for not keeping my end of our deal. I am fully prepared to face him and his punishment."
"How do you know he's going to punish you? I mean what if he only-?"
"I don't have time for these pointless questions, I need to stop him from destroying my fortress." The being interrupted after the ground trembled and vibrated underneath his heels. "Like I said, we are one in the same. The anger and hate he feels is no different from mine, our thought processes aren't that much different either."
"How?"
"I just know. Now stay in there, I'll be back soon." And with that Herobrine spun back around and flashed away from his spot.
"Wait, Herobrine!" Steve took one step out of the bedrock cave and quickly moved back in from the rumbling sounds. He had to stay in the safety of the bedrock bunker but his mind was telling him differently. Herobrine was going to face the End lord and he was going to suffer because of him. Steve held his breath as he decided on what to do. His survival instincts told him to stay in the shelter, however; his consciousness kept telling him that Herobrine shouldn't face the beast alone. Especially since the powerful being wouldn't fight his liberator and would face Notch knows what because of him. Steve paced back in forth in the bedrock strip contemplating on what he should do.