Hero's Bane

Chapter 76: Must Let It Go

Edited 7/8/2022

"Everything." The miner sneered and hesitantly lowered his pointing finger, he was angry and upset but jabbing a finger at the guy wasn't going to do him any good; he sighed with a low huff and took a step back. "You cannot believe what I have been submitted to for the past few weeks, so much anger, torment, horror, … pain." He said darkly. The past traumatic event was still eating away at his conscious, remembering the cries of his loved ones in suffering in the memory made his chest wrench and throb in grief.

"Whoa, calm down there friend. I'm not quite following." The bald man reached a hand up and scratched the back of his head in nervousness.

Steve shook his head back in forth in skepticism. "One, we are not friends. Two, did you not hear? I thought the place that you directed me to would line my inventory with precious ores and ingots, well I didn't come out with anything the whole tormenting time I was there! I lost everything, everything but the clothes on my back!" He reared his right arm up towards his chest, pointing his thumb back at himself to gesture his lonely form. "I didn't even get to mine and that was the whole reason why I went there for Notch's sake! You deceived me." The miner lightened his tone of voice when the man gave him a disheartened look.

"And the village you pointed out was not a welcoming one, everyone treated me as though I were a monster. … Or at least most of them did." He corrected more calmly when he remembered Warren, Carson, Luna, and Mark. "The chief even tried to execute me, I was almost killed. Why did you lie to me?" He asked with anger and upset still in his tone, mostly angered words came from his mouth. "I can't believe that I was so easily deceived." He sneered, feeling enough rage to and desire to punch something as hard as he could just so that he would release the tension that was building up inside. He couldn't bring himself to punch the poor guy that led him on a trip to suffer; no matter how much he deserved it, but hitting a tree would be more preferable. The miner spun on his heels and moved forward in a haste towards a nearby oak tree, he rammed his knuckles against the wood and hit it hard enough to make the bark peel where his flesh met it. He pulled his hand back and shook off the pain with grimace, it hurt enough to remove some of his anger.

The traveler looked away for a short second and sighed as he rubbed the back of his head again, he was thinking that he might have said the wrong words and angered the man enough to take it out on a tree. The miner was furious and it was because of him. He deserved an apology, no not even an apology would be enough. The bearded man's frown deepened. 'If only it could be enough.' "I'm sorry about that; those folk used to be so nice, or they were when I visited them a very lo- uh a good while ago. Let's just say that. Perhaps it's been too long?" 'Far too long.'

"Well they didn't like me, not one bit." The miner said with a scornful expression.

"Okay, so they didn't. People change over… time. You mentioned that at least some of them treated you better, they liked you right?"

"Yeah, but their trust and friendship was not so easily won, some of it had been tested to the limit of it's breaking point. Others I got to know better through unfortunate situations; like sitting in a prison cell for a day or so." He hinted with agitation by his twitching eye.

"Oh, well at least everything seemed to have worked out since you're here and all." The man offered a faint grin.

"No, it didn't." Steve let his tensed-up arms drop to his sides, it was Herobrine who saved him from the execution; but the same guy was also the one who decided to torture him even when they were supposedly friends. Actually, Herobrine tormented him so much and to think that he could just push back everything the man ever did to him? Steve barred his teeth at the betrayal, nothing's hardly changed except for his growing pain and anguish. Promises were left broken, even to the long deceased sentinel. Steve faced death so many times to try and set things right with a tormented being and got almost nothing but pain, sorrow, and suffering out of it. He could never do enough, he was a failure.

And Herobrine? He couldn't even think of the guy without feeling enraged and revolted. Herobrine had taken things way to far, far from forgiveness. "One of my friends did push our friendship to the breaking point because of his own cowardice, and I used to think that he had absolutely nothing to fear. He had the strength that I could never have and he still chose to be afraid." Steve said solemnly. He rubbed his head and closed his eyes for a brief moment as he took a good breath of air. There was no telling if he was actually feeling so shifty in his moods by his own will or if it was a side effect of the cursed blade's negativity still eating away at him, like how the other sword's effect would for long minutes after holding it; all he knew was that he was trapped in a pit of rage and despair and it didn't seem like he'd ever be able to get out.

"I'm sorry to hear about that and I apologize for steering you wrong, I expec-" The man paused and stroked his beard for a second as he thought to himself. "I never imagined that the trip would have turned out so badly for you; I never meant deceit, just for you to find something so valuable that you would treasure and make things right in your life and the for the people you cared about. But sometimes there's going to be a price for something of great value, and sometimes that prize comes at a high cost. It's very unfortunate that you didn't find what you were looking for."

The miner lowered his head and stared blankly at the ground, those words dug right into his heart. The traveler didn't seem at all to have the intent to trick him, he was even being quite sympathetic and apologetic which was reassuring of his innocence. "I found something, not anything I was expecting really. I didn't get to keep it though. He tore me down after everything we've been through, all the times we helped each other out. Even after we became friends. He kept a dark secret from me and then dumps it onto all at once just so that he could take a cowards way out of life or just simply return to his old ways. And what really tore me up was him intentionally forcing a horrible... concept onto me and not letting up after I loudly begged him to stop." Steve clinched his fists with the feeling of rage returning.

"So you are saying that you found someone out there?"

Steve blinked when he noticed that he was staring at the ground, he then lifted his head and nodded. "Yeah, and he was not a friendly one. Encountered him many times before we got onto 'speaking terms', or something close to that. In the midst of all the power-loaded mobs and vast terrain, I found him and most times; he found me. Oh and thanks for warning me about the more tougher mobs out there." Steve stated with sarcasm and lightly narrowed eyes. "I was almost killed a few times. If I knew they were that strong than I would have better prepared myself or just looked elsewhere to mine. So thanks."

"I did forget to mention that, though if I did then you probably wouldn't have taken the trip. At the time I first saw you I thought you'd be able to handle yourself, you seemed tough and determined. Usually die-hards like the challenge; and though you don't look like one of those guys; you seemed fairly strong and brave. Now as for the mobs there? I wonder why they're so strong? They are pretty tough and resilient compared to others I've noticed and are attracted to light instead of being repelled by it."

"It's because of Him."

"Him?" The bearded man mimicked with a raised brow.

"Yes." The miner replied with annoyance, he was hesitant however to speak of the name because there was a lot of people who didn't believe in the white-eyed legend known as Herobrine. He himself didn't until he got toyed with and nearly killed. Conformation wise; taking a good beating made himself sure that the legend was real, the nightmares helped but the first beating deep within the caves was good enough to get the concept knocked into his head. Literally. "The guy who I thought was my friend. He fed the mobs power and though he doesn't care about them he still wanted them to torment innocent people and make their lives a living Nether by making them strong enough to take more hits and dish out more damage."

The man in brown lightly gaped. "Gave them power? I know that the monsters were strong there, but I didn't know a single man gave them power." 'Well, at least not until I returned; but by then so much had happened. That man had become a mindless killer and did everything in his power to make humans suffer because of me, even if he didn't remember that I was the cause.'

Steve sighed from the reply, this guy just didn't seem like he was believing what he was hearing. It was a long shot to explain something so unbelievable but he had to try. "This guy is no ordinary man okay. He has powers that go beyond what I or anyone can imagine. Like he can go to the Nether. That cursed place actually exists!" He says with his eyes widening and gesturing his arms in amazement. "By Notch it's insanely dangerous and extremely hot there because I was dragged and imprisoned there for a little while, but it's real!"

"Imprisoned there?"

Steve nodded with a stern frown. "Almost died a few times there too, dehydration, desperate souls in sand trying to take my body, the freakish fiery Nether mobs, and the guy in question. He's nothing of this world. He can summon hordes of animals and control them, the village was swarmed by possessed hostile pigs just a day ago. One of the craziest things he can do is force dreams or visions into your head, that's what he did to me a few hours ago. He- he forced a memory of him killing my father and my brother into my head and made me watch them die while I could do nothing to stop him." Steve lowered his voice with the loss of excitement from Herobrine's powers, his focus was quick to fall back onto his murdered family members who was robbed of their lives, robbed of their souls which may not even exist anymore. "I wanted him to stop but he wouldn't, it was worse than being trapped in the Nether; by a long shot." Steve finished softly, recalling the last moments of his loved ones.

"Okay." The traveler replied with a skeptic look, almost as if was lost in thought.

The miner inhaled and exhaled. "He's not human but he looks like he is. He actually looks a lot like-" Steve paused when the man before him looked away with his attention shifting to a part of the woods that was to his left, like he was looking towards the mountains that cradled the valley. "Why am I even trying to tell you any of this?" He said more quietly. "You wouldn't believe me even if I did. I bet you don't even believe what I've said already." The miner sighed heavily as he hung his head low and swayed it back and forth in his own idiocy. Sure what he said already seemed completely untrue; like a tale from one's vivid imagination, the guy might even think he's crazy now or something.

The other blinked and looked back at the miner with a more attentive and serious expression, his eyes were narrowed inward. "Please continue, tell me everything. I believe you, I 'will' believe you."

"Why?" He shot a weak glare at the guy and gaped a bit. 'So now he listens?' "No one else likely would, it'd all be a fairytale to them unless they saw and witnessed what I have. The same probably goes for you too. I had to get attacked, tormented, and nearly killed multiple times to know that what I was being attacked by the real deal. By a legend, a myth."

"I want you to tell me everything that happened out there. I believe you because I know I can trust you." The bald traveler encouraged with a serious expression.

"What? Why? How can you trust someone you hardly even know?" The miner furrowed a brow.

The man folded his arms. "Because when I see you I see an honest and respectable man; someone strong and enduring but also kind and full of fortitude. A risk taker, a fighter, and if anything else; a survivor with a Nether amount of determination and power of will." His facial expression lightened and his arms fall to his sides, his voice begins to trail off. "Just like I did when I saw you the first time we met a few weeks ago. … Just like you were meant to be- back then… before you died." He said quietly to himself with a weakening sad smile.

Steve blinked with a puzzled expression. "Before I died? But I'm still here?"

The man blinked and nervously grinned. "Oh! Uh, I meant someone like you." He suddenly rebounded in his attitude with more energy and surprise. "They were just like you in so many ways. Like you in ways that its almost unbelievable. He was smart, kind, independent, and lived alone on the land for a long time like a real survivor; but he was still a pretty good guy with excellent moral principles. The only problem was a certain deep fear that he had and clung to, he kept his fear bottled away for a while but sometimes he'd just run and hide and I wasn't sure why for the longest time. Other than that; he was everything I expected him to be. A great but distant friend. You really do remind me of him." He finished warmly.

"Ah, sorry to be a painful reminder." The miner looked away briefly as the man rubbed his the side of his head with a sigh.

"No, it's not a painful memory but a fond one of someone very important. He deserved better."

"How did he die?" Steve prodded cautiously with curiosity and returned his gaze to the bearded man, it was keeping his mind off of the argument he had with Herobrine that just kept playing over and over again in the back of his mind.

The man's smile was replaced with a deep frown, his eyes were downcast from Steve's. "Sadly it was my fault, but letting go of my past still doesn't change a thing today. Mistakes are not so easily forgotten." The traveler turned around and made a slow amble on the grassy path, he moved slow to allow the exhausted looking miner to keep up. "Let's just say that I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, I've made so many bad decisions and acted with impulse instead of trying to think things out and deal with the matters more carefully. I took the wrong courses of actions to fix my problems and only ended up making them much worse. Innocents were killed because of me; not just one but-but numbers aren't important, not anymore."

The miner's mouth hung agape for a short moment as he thought of how to reply to that. "Sounds real tough man. I kind of know that feeling, in being that I've acted on impulse a few times myself and made mistakes. Perhaps not as bad as you since yours sounds pretty serious, but I did put my life on the line and ended up deteriorating my situations with the wrong actions and words. I at least I didn't get people killed through my decisions, though not acting fast enough has gotten one that I know of killed."

"One of my most biggest mistakes was going against a- a friend." The man started with hesitance but smiled faintly as if he was reminiscing. "He was almost like family; only that we weren't related by blood but I still considered him a brother because he was all alone and had no family of his own. I found him one day trekking through the woods when I was going to see a good friend of mine, he was confused as to where he was when I met him and was surprised as to why I wasn't afraid of him. I took this man to be a reason for my friend's recent anxiousness and alarm. I decided to help him, mostly for my friend's sake. This guy was quite intimidating but he didn't frighten me though, so I took him to our community and introduced him to all my friends and associates. It was a rough start for most but he grew on us over time, became friends with everybody. It was like he always belonged." His faint smile fell flat.

"We got along for awhile but he changed so abruptly one day; someone so calm and understanding just snapped by a few words he overheard by a few people. That story though is a little too personal to talk about at the moment, so I won't go into detail about it. All I can say is that we had a big fallout when he threatened all of my other friends for answers and explanations concerning something about himself. He got violent from the lack of reasonable replies, 'not good enough' answers he said. A lot of people suffered because of it, the one who suffered the most was my friend that looked like you. In making an enemy out of my old friend and brother; the other faced a terrible death and was cheated out of a chance of greatness, potential, and his chance to live out the rest of his life.

That man enjoyed life and everything good that it had to offer; he might not have enjoyed tough lessons that made surviving on his own difficult, but he learned from them and gained experience and knowledge. He prospered well alone but I decided that I should introduce him to some friends of mine, because having company to share experiences and such was a wonderful thing to do. I mean he was practically created for the solitary lifestyle and had no family but a change could never hurt, he didn't have any close friends so I decided that he should. I told him about coming over with some friends of mine and he seemed open to the idea and actually welcomed it despite his timidity of meeting new people, he barely knew anybody but was surprisingly open to have some people to talk to.

He remodeled his house to add on guest rooms, since I visited and told him that the others who would come to meet him would need a place to stay for a night." The traveler's smile returned. "You should have seen the look of excitement on his face when I told him. He'd finally have company and a reason to build a bigger house. He really loved to build, but mine? Oh he loved to mine more than any other job I could think of. He needed more food, torches, wood, and stone, you could imagine which supply he worked for first. He had one week, seven long days to renovate his small home and collect enough food for his guests. They would arrive at the end of the week so he started collecting and building right after I left." Again his expression falls to a solemn one. "Sadly he never finished, … that meeting never came. His house remained unfinished a few fays before the visit. Empty, cold, soundless and still, it later fell into piles of crumbling stone and ash as it was burned down by his killer in heartless resentment."

The miner was about to speak of such unsettling horror but stopped in his place when the traveler did, he noticed that the man had balled his fists like he was furious and still grieving. It was painful to hear the man's story and he didn't even know half the details, it was likely worse than he thought. Steve walked a little closer to the guy and placed a hand on his shoulder for consolation. A rumble of thunder had his head snapping up towards the darkening sky, a storm was in the making it seemed.

The bald man shook his head, lips curling while eyes strained. "It was all my fault. My brother felt betrayal from my impulsive actions to restrain him from hurting my friends. I tried to- to change him and I failed to do so, I should have never of done that. I was so stupid to do that, there could have been another way! He's unique and not so easily persuaded, not even by force. He hated me deeply when I banned him from our society, he also took my tries at changing him personal and held onto a strong hate that he could never let go. Once he found my friend surviving all on his own; he then took it upon himself to get back at me at all costs in thirst of vengeance and he found the perfect way to do it to. He killed my friend in retaliation." He paused and exhaled heavily. "I never thought that he'd go that far, oh how I was wrong."

"Wow, that sounds awful. I- I don't even know what to say other than I know this pain of loss. I felt enough sorrow and anger to break me forever, just hours ago it feels like it. I was reminded of my own losses and how they exist no more." Steve said softly, fighting back the anguish that welled up in his heavy chest.

The bald one took a deep breath and leaned his head back, he blinked and the heavy cloud cover slowly drifted away. "We both share this common pain, that is how I know I can trust you. It's ...also something else."

"You mean like a gut feeling? And how did you know I was in so much pain?… Not quite the physical kind; though I am actually hurting all over believe it or not."

The man lowered his stare from the sky and looked at the miner in the eyes. "I saw it in you, even before I reached you. I mean you were half slumped over and practically dragging your heels, that is definitely a sign of a troubled soul. And thanks for the consolation, though you don't need to use me as a support anymore." He managed a chuckle when the miner finally moved his hand off of his shoulder.

"Sorry about that, there's just so much on my mind right now."

"No trouble here. And I suppose you could say that it's a gut feeling; but trust to me it's something else entirely, like it goes a life before your own."

Steve shot him an awkward look. "You're weird." He said blankly. "But I guess I am too. I mean it's not like most to go to a treacherous place and fight and cheat death so many times just to make a change for someone else and nearly die doing it. To risk everything to fulfill a promise."

"A promise to a friend?"

"Yes, but there was more than just one. I had many. A few to some friends of mine, or what friends I had from the village and Nigel. Then I had one to someone who was already dead and been dead for centuries. And another to the one who nearly killed me many times; the last one who decided that our friendship couldn't be because of his cowardice and stupid code. One who wanted nothing more to do with me. Wanted nothing but get rid of me so that I wouldn't be in his way. He just wanted to forget everything that made him human-like, even the fondest of memories."

"So I take it the last 'person' you were referring to is this guy with the power?"

"Yeah, his name is-" Steve paused and adverted his eyes from the guy. "Okay you may or may not believe this; but the guy I am speaking about is pretty much a legend, an ancient nightmare that stalks the tales of old but has been around way before them. It seems like he's been around forever." He finally placed his gaze on the other man. "His name is Herobrine."

There was a long silence between them, the traveler didn't look as surprised as the miner thought he would.

"You are familiar with the name?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I have heard of the living legend named Herobrine. The White-Eyed Terror, Greatest of All Evil, Lord of The Nightmare Realm, King of Mobs, a Demon in disguise. He has many names. … So, you befriended him, and you made a promise to him?"

"Yes, but you believe me?" Steve gave a skeptic look as the traveler nodded.

"I said I would. I will listen to you. I was practically the guy who sent you to a horrible place anyways. Besides, I am kind of curious of how your trip went though you don't have to say anything that would bring back the pain." The man said taking a look to his left again to see the distant mountains poking above the tree tops. 'He's still residing in the old fortress alone. Still possessing a great threat to the people of this world and about to become the Brine that killed some of my friends and forced my hand so long ago.' He lightly narrowed his eyes and balled his fists. 'I cannot fail again, no matter what the cost. It's all up to St-' His train of thought was derailed when a small tap on his shoulder had him looking back at Steve.

"Hey, are you alright? You look tense? Did Herobrine ever do anything to hurt you?"

The guy blinked and fakes a smile. "Nah, I've got a long glimpse of him before but that's about it." The man replied with a carefree expression replacing his sneer; his mood had shifted from agitation to relaxed, so the miner had noticed.

"You've seen him before?"

"Sure. So I have to believe you because I saw him with my own eyes once. And don't worry about me. I was just thinking back to the old stories of him, wondering which ones are true or not. Just forget about them though, tell me how you became his 'friend'. For most hearing such an experience would seem like a lie, it's a story that most people won't buy you know? So feel free to tell me, tell me everything if you want."

The miner sighed and ran a hand through his short brown hair, he seemed anxious about speaking but he straightened his posture and gave a more serious look. "Okay, you really want to know what you sent me off to? Well you'll get an earful, it has been a nightmare nearly the entire time. It still kind of is, unfortunately. I can't say how many times I had been beaten, choked, cut, nearly killed, how many nightmares or strange dreams I've had. I've lost count. I've been given so many chances to live, faced death several times. I even brought Herobrine down, by accident at that! That was only a one-time thing though."

The man's dark eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! You brought down Herobrine, by an accident?" The traveler folded his arms and looked intently at the miner with wonder. "Your journey sounds really interesting, you could share it if you want to. I'll definitely listen after hearing that." 'I'm still amazed that you were able to do it, but I also knew he would hesitate; you are Lionel's descendant after all. Lionel is a descendant of the son of who was made in the image of the first Minecraftian, you had to be reborn Steve; but only after Herobrine gained a sense of humanity. Other factors had to have taken place first as well, you couldn't come back until the time and circumstances were appropriate.'

'You were born for this purpose.'

"I did, believe it or not." The man said loudly with more excitement but it wasn't the good kind of elation. "I wasn't too proud of the fact though. Usually stopping a monster would bring a feeling of victory but all I felt was dread, guilt, and horror. I couldn't kill him or let him die, not even after all of the countless lives he's claimed. So I managed to beat him and help him even though I didn't know what quite to do once he'd wake up. I barely won that battle though, Notch must have been looking out for me?"

'I know that miner. I heard your request at the shack but I never needed to help you, you had Herobrine's own power in the form of his blade to do it. I would have intervened in some way or another if he came too close to killing you. It'd only be a split second.'

"I could have just ended him there; anybody would have taken the chance to end a living nightmare forever, well maybe not Nigel. Although, he'd probably be killed for the bombardment of questions that he couldn't get answers to. Herobrine doesn't have patience. So yeah, I could have done it but I didn't. I mean he had already saved my life by then by taking me to Nigel during the snowstorm, so I definitely couldn't force myself to do it. I could have trapped him in that pit of lava when he chased after me and fell in but it would be wrong. Maybe not to the world; but to myself, to the moral standing I live by."

'The moral principles you were created with so long ago.'

"That's why I had to help him when I made a cut that wouldn't heal, I knew that had had been punished wrong by mankind and so I wanted to prove that not all humans were against him; that I cared whether he lived or not because he was having trouble understanding my actions. He needed to see the good there was after living so long with vile intentions. That actually happened by the way. Herobrine heals-…" The miner started to trail off while the traveler was thinking to himself. … …

'There was no corruption back then, no greediness, no hate, and no fear… or so it used to be that way. You weren't even afraid of the mobs until 'that' encounter, everything changed from my foolish choice to send Him to the Overworld. But how was I supposed to know that doing that would have turned out so bad? The world was so vast and yet he found you so quickly. He just had to be created with the instilment of fear, with power that put him close to our level. He's no creation of mine sadly. … It was not your fault Steve. You were no match for him, like a giant zombie to a small silverfish. You were so easily frightened; frightened by your identical form, not because of the looks you shared but because that's how He was made. The embodiment of fear.'

"He could have killed me right there, suck out my soul and let my body rot away. But he didn't. Herobrine was Lionel all along, the sentinel in my dreams, nightmares, and visions. The whole time he was trying to get me to leave for sparing his life and saving him because he didn't want to kill me, he was talking to me and I never knew until he revealed himself as I was dying. I must have made him have a change of heart, he pulled out his sword and let me fall to the floor. He then did the strangest thing. He cut himself and used his blood, 'his own blood.'" The miner repeated as he placed a hand over his chest; as if he was lightly tracing the now nonexistent sealed wound. "He saved my life even after trying to take it. His blood healed me like it was blood of a god or something." … …

'That act still baffles me; considering it was him to take your life out of his hatred for me, for what I did to him. He's changed so much since, I have you to thank for that. I wonder if he'd be more reasonable if he were to remember everything now? Perhaps not. He's done the unthinkable before when I gave him certain memories, not even that was enough and it only made matters worse as an end result. He's designed to heal like that Steve; his blood doesn't even compare to humans, other than the crimson color. At least it still functions the same and works like mine.'

"I offered him bread and I even returned his sword. I didn't care about power or getting revenge, I just wanted to make things right. Even be friends if we could, that was my first attempt to reach out to him. He's been alone for so long, hanging onto hate for our kind all because of what humans did to him. He never deserved to get punished by them or Notch but he was!" The miner clenched his fists and growled.

"They called for Notch to silence and paralyze him when he did nothing wrong, at least not intentionally. It was their lead sentinel who turned on the fortress, he hired an archer assassin to get that boy, just so that Herobrine would be out of the way and so that he could take the throne. Herobrine was in complete paralysis and tormented for something that wasn't his fault! I had to be dragged to the Nether and have Herobrine painfully recreate his voice and a link to my mind to be able to speak the truth, to be able to tell me how much rage he felt being betrayed and tormented. He wanted answers out of me though, answers for my reasons of not giving up, my reasons as to why I looked so much like him and Lionel. Answers for saving him." … …

'It would be easier for you to become corrupted from power now than you would have back then, but you do have more resistance to the desire of inhuman strength. That was a trait that you didn't need back then all by yourself in an empty world where you were the only human, the strength you had was enough to fight mobs and lift the heavy things that you needed. People today want everything, they want power to push others to do work for them or take things from others for their own selfish needs. They came out much differently than you did and some are born and learn of these negative behaviors, they live them and so the next generation replicates and follows after. Once you were gone creating more people was a hassle, it didn't help that my team and I were still in despondence of your loss. We took our eyes off the people and they learned what evil was, by then it was too late to fix the damages; but in a way that evil brought the good people together and formed stronger bonds. It's a man like Brutus that shows our failure, the people did not retain the proper wisdom they were given.

I do thank you for showing the kindness though; it's been so long since Herobrine has seen those acts. I don't know what all happened in the Nether, but I am glad he took care of you like a brother that I couldn't be when you disappeared off of the face of this world. You stand before me and you are sharing your experience, that's proof enough that you were cared for. Your physical condition is deplorable but you are alive, that's surprising coming from someone as psychologically damaged as Herobrine.

You and Lionel were meant to look alike; not just through the passing of genetic traits, but because we wanted what was best. The final time Herobrine was sentenced to this world he had no one and his fearful influence and power would make it hard to find a place to belong to, that influence could not be undone and I could not physically change him because of his powerful status. The cycle was sure to repeat itself if he went too long without his focus on something other than himself, he'd remember everything of his past and take his deep seeded revenge on me again. So he needed something valuable to watch over and cherish.

That's where Lionel came in, I was certain to create his great grandfather with the similar traits that both you and Herobrine possessed and I awaited for them to pass along until a near identical child was born. I watched over him for so long and directed him towards Herobrine when he was old enough and strong enough to fight. It was a close call; but the human survived with Herobrine's help, he didn't know how much of a favor he did for someone he hated so much. I finally did something right for him, he found a place to call home and someone he could call his brother; through such an attachment would give him lasting peace. Standing next to each other; you could say that they were brothers. …Then things just had to go south during the rise of the fortress, one of my big mistakes here was made in that point of time, how could I have been so foolish? So impetuous?'

"I should have never left."

"Hmmm." The miner looked at the man and waved a face in front of the man's blank stare. "What do you mean?"

The traveler suddenly blinked from the movement and question. "It's- It's nothing friend, I'm just muttering something unimportant to myself. Forget about my interference just continue."

"Alright then. -It had been a torturous time there but I was no longer caged, I had finally earned Herobrine's trust through that horrible trial. I didn't even think I could but I just couldn't give up, dying seemed worth it at the time though the method of dying was almost unimaginable. Even thinking back to that room I still feel the prickly icy chills, I don't know what I would do if I ever had to hear those pained souls again. It wasn't long after that that he came to me and considered me a friend, from that point on he did everything he could to protect me and he even told me why he collected souls. It was hard for him to get that out but he did, he said he owed a great debt to his liberator." Steve narrowed his eyes and his fists shook. "His liberator turned out to be a vile beast, a real monster. That 'thing' wanted revenge too but it wasn't even for humans, it was for Notch. That beast named Ender shook the entire Nether fortress with it's roar and -"

'Ender? That must be- That's right, I never named him. I didn't even think to at the time, and it's probably all my fault that he used Herobrine as his tool of vengeance. I was just so focused on humans and adding things to improve the living stability of the creatures that inhabited the world that I- I- It's no wonder he started to kill my creations, why we fought. …Why he had to be weakened and permanently banished. The damages were just too steep, humanity couldn't prosper because any living form was found within his sights were either devoured or brutally destroyed. Some bodies were so torn up to even look at. I should have never gave him that much power.'

"-Herobrine's hands were nearly gone because of me, I know he didn't harvest enough souls from the change in him. It was great that he didn't kill; but he paid a pretty hefty price and he allowed the punishment. I was just glad that when Ender told him to kill me that he decided not to, I really thought he was; but he didn't have the intent. He threw me off the edge of a broken pillar and into the lava; thankfully he used his power to send me back to the Overworld instead of letting me burn, he might have actually killed me and took my soul if we weren't friends. … Friends?" He repeated more softly with a scowl taking over the smooth features of his face, his eyes narrowed inward again and he sighed heavily.

'Friends, even after all of that? You surprise me Steve, you really do. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind now that you are 'him', the looks prove it enough; but your heart even more so. After coming back from my long absence; after years of waiting you've finally returned through the cycle I put you in and you're fixing my mistakes or you are trying to at least. Born again to make a great change and somewhat live that life that you didn't get to on your first time, it's been such a long time and I can't let one fight ruin it all. Things happen for a reason Steve, you only have to learn that you have to let it go.

You must if you want to fix everything, no matter how painful it may be to do so. You are the only one who can fix this, my physical interference would cause Herobrine rampancy and devastation to so many lives. He's not one to forgive and he's definitely not stable; but you are miner, or you can put the deaths of your loved ones behind you at most. I'd rather not fight him anyways, I don't want to have to destroy him. Once a brother always a brother; but even tough choices may be for the better, no matter how much they hurt.'

Notch lifted his head and reached a hand out and placed it on the miner's shoulder and the violet-eyed one looked at him with his tense expression lightening up. 'I can't have you giving up on me now, I will ensure that I fix this mess once in for all. If you fail me then I'll do it on my own and though the outcome would be destructive, I will not let another one of my blunders ruin this world.'