Hero's Bane
Chapter 89: Overcome He Must
Apologies for the long wait, many writer's blocks this time around along with stress from work. Here it is now, hope you enjoy.
In a bright flash, two forms of identical men appear in an open and barren land of orange colored sand and large natural cascading spires with bands of browns, reds, and golds. They appear before an open gap into the earth that is surrounded by spikes of dark terracotta, the injured one stumbles forward several steps and eventually falls towards the ground; before he hits the sand the other form appears next to him and loops a hand underneath the other's shoulder to stop his fall.
"Gaaahhhh!" Steve winced and raised his good arm up to his head as his world seemed to spin and warp to his displeasure, the man suffered a little from vertigo and carefully raised himself up on wobbling legs; he grabbed onto Herobrine's arm to help stable himself. "H-how do you and Endermen d-do it?" He began with an expression of nausea and half-lidded eyes, he shook his head and allowed the old hero to hold him still as the dizziness wore off. "I hate how teleporting feels, makes me feel sick every time."
Herobrine raised a brow in piqued curiosity. "I'm assuming the Endermen helping you and that young lady has given you quite the experience? I am used to it, you on the other hand; have not yet adjusted to it. Perhaps more warps will help?"
The miner frowned and held his head in place. "I don't think that 'adjust' is the right word Brine, there's no way I'm ever going to get used to that." The man said and held his head with his eyes closed to gain his equilibrium faster. His face tensed up and he started to feel beads of sweat forming above his brow, his exposed skin soon began to feel heated. "It's kind of hot here." Steve then slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a sweltering biome of brassy shaded sands and dried shrubs, they were in the badlands. "Huh?" He blinked then turned to look at Herobrine.
"We're here to mine some gold, it's very abundant in this biome and close to the surface; a soft metal that even you can mine with one hand."
Steve looked around at the large gap into the ground and then looked around to the spikey spires and rolling slopes of terracotta and sand. "Wow, it's been a while since I've mined in the badlands, you're not wrong though; gold is plentiful in these orange deserts." He then paused shrugged with a look of confusion. "But why gold? How is that going to help me with training in evasion?" He inquired and blinked as Herobrine formed a diamond pickaxe in his hand.
"You dropped this." He said as he handed it to the miner and allowed the guy to stand on his own.
Steve gave him a faint smile as he took the tool. "Thanks. I must have lost it during transport, it's difficult to hold onto anything when you feel as sick and dizzy as I did." He lightly chuckled and examined the sharp ends of the diamond tool. "This one one outstandingly nice looking pickaxe by the way."
"Don't worry as to why we need gold, just make sure you get as much as you can. You'll find out why it's needed soon enough, for now just enjoy mining like you've always had."
The miner nodded with a big smile. "Of course, I haven't been mining in a while and you actually want to join me though you can fill your hands in literal seconds with any ore? I'm honored, truly. I'll admit that it's much more better than mining alone, so this time will be better than most with you here of all people. You still haven't showed me a fond memory that you've had with Lionel yet; but this is definitely something heading in the right direction when it comes to living a little and having a good time. I can't wait to get started, how about you?" His smile fell a bit, Herobrine still didn't seem so enthusiastic about mining in general with his current blank expression.
The white-eyed man looked away. "Then let's waste no more time, I've already done enough of that this morning." He said bitterly, avoiding Steve's face. "Now come, I've scouted a good place to begin and here is where we'll mine." The two began walking into the cave, down a small and easily traversable incline that the miner had noticed.
'Herobrine must have been thorough to pick this spot, it's easy on my sore legs and he's given me an unbreakable and unique pickaxe that'll make the job much easier with one hand. That's pretty considerate of him.' Steve's expression faded a bit. 'Maybe he feels bad about yelling at me earlier? I kind of deserved it though; I pressed too much on something too sensitive apparently. Maybe I can make it up to him somehow?' Steve thought to himself.
The two men passed under a large chunk of hanging stone to find a grand open area underground with multiple pathways along the sides of the cavern with one giant gap in the center of it all, a few missing blocks above gave the dark place a little light that spilled beams of sunlight gold down to the depths below. The miner could immediately see a lot of clear space to explore, he thought he could even see exposed gold hiding in the shadows on the other side of the gap.
Steve gaped at the open chasm before them and beamed as his eyes searched the area, finding gold would be rather easy; especially exposed ore veins; he could already see a small strip just inside the mouth of the nearest tunnel. He blinked as he suddenly thought of a great idea that might just make things more fun for Herobrine, he might actually enjoy the his time or at the very least; distract him from whatever is bothering him.
"Well let's make the little mining trip interesting shall we Herobrine?" Steve smirked as he softly tossed the pick up and down in his hand, Herobrine turned back and looked at him in interest. "Let's see who can mine the most gold ores, I know you're great and all but you're looking at a professional that has many years under his belt; I started mining at the ripe age of six." The miner boasted with a haughty tone as he pointed his thumb back at himself, or rather his bound thumb, making the powerful man give him an inquisitive stare. "Whaddya say Brine? Up for the challenge?" Steve finally rested the pick on his shoulder. "I have a feeling that you really like those. It's no fighting powerful mobs or destroying villages, but it is something that you can prove your capabilities at."
Herobrine oddly found himself grinning, it's been a long time since he's been a part of a little friendly competition; a part of him really wanted to prove his mettle and abilities. He fully turned back around to face Steve and summoned his pickaxe into his hand and rested it on his shoulder; mimicking the miner. "Very well, challenge excepted." He then darkly chuckled, making the miner feel a little at unease all of the sudden.
"I know you're fast but I call that gold vein over there, I'm injured so I get a head start!" Steve suddenly pointed and began a fast limp towards it. Once he reached the vein he began slamming his pick into the ore, it took several swings but he managed to get his first gold nugget in hand and with relative ease as the pick fueled his strength. "One down." He beamed in his successful gathering.
He turned his attention towards Herobrine who walks up next to his mining spot and stares at the stone wall with fixed concentration, Steve blinks with a raised brow as the man places his palm upon the grainy stone texture and just stands there. The man's eyes flash brightly for a couple of seconds before he walks several blocks away and then begins mining into the stone with his blue aura diamond pickaxe. Steve trots over to the hole the man was digging into and gawks as the immortal dug right into a chunk of gold ores. The being breaks out a total of four ore blocks and collects four gold nuggets with ease.
"That's four." He says as he breaks the last one and picks up the shiny lump, a big smirk was on his face. "Why are you there watching Steve? Shouldn't you be mining?" He grins at the human from a side glance.
"You can see through walls?!" Steve would have lost his jaw had it not been attached to his face. "That's cheating." He says with a downcast tone and slouches over a bit in dismay.
Herobrine stepped out of the small gap and held his hand out, soon the miner's old bag formed within his palm and he handed it to Steve. "You'll need this." He said to the miner with his smile withstanding, relishing the human's mind boggled expression. "You didn't say that I couldn't, you did however say that I can prove my capabilities. Yes, I can see through walls from a fair distance if desired." He laughed, Steve took the bag out of the man's hand and sighed.
"I- I should have laid some ground rules." He nervously sweated, he was already down three ores.
Herobrine shrugged. "Don't feel bad, if it makes you feel better I'll even leave all exposed gold ore veins for you and only dig for mine."
Steve bit the inside of his cheek with slightly narrowed eyes as he took the bag and dumped his first gold nugget into it, though annoyed by the handicap and arrogance; it was probably his best chance against the guy in his current condition. "Fine, but you're still not going to win, I'm certain that I can gather the exposed ores quicker than you can dig them up. Mining is my strong suit after all."
"Are you sure about that?" The old hero teased with a toothy smirk.
A tap on the miner's shoulder had him spinning around to see two duplicates of Herobrine standing there with arms folded and arrogant smirks on their faces, Steve had forgot about that power of his. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered with a shake of his head then faced the original Herobrine for a few silent moments before darting off in a hurry towards the next gold vein he could see.
"Good luck miner."
"Thanks, won't need it!" Steve shouted back as he went deeper into the cave in a rush.
Herobrine couldn't suppress his smile, even at such a disadvantage the miner was determined to prove that he could win. Lionel had always been the same way when it came to terrible odds, especially against him.
Steve dug his tool into the wall at the shining gold ore reflecting off the glowing pickaxe, he managed to collect two ores and was working on getting his third in no time soon. The pickaxe striking the precious stone was music to his ears, a seemingly somewhat forgotten noise that he once cherished so much. Two weeks was far too long to go without mining, though his prospects weren't going towards helping his mother and sister; it was still thrilling to collect the rare metal and lots of it. He didn't know why he was so obsessed with the dangerous job in the dark cool caves, even as a kid he'd sneak away from the house and go into a shallow pit to mine up coal or if he had gotten lucky; iron.
His late older brother was more interested in harvesting wood back then, a job a lot less dangerous with less risks and it was a lot easier to do. Steve once tried to convince him to go mining; but Anthony was always the smart one and five years wiser. Too dangerous he'd say, dangerous mobs hide in caves, the cave can collapse on him, you can fall into a pit or even a ravine, dad said we weren't aloud to go underground. But none of that ever stopped Steve, his grandfather was a miner as was his grandfather. The profession was in his blood, generational. Getting down in the dirt and finding not only the rarest of metals and gems; but just exploring the dark underground and digging away through stone until his heart was contented and satisfied. It's just a part of who he is.
How could someone love mining so much despite it's great dangers and exhausting labor? Steve honestly didn't know, but it's almost like he was born for the job, specifically custom made to be a miner.
The sound of something shifting behind his back had him instinctually stop in place and swiftly turn around in fright; to his surprise it wasn't a mob like he initially thought. The miner exhaled lightly then let the pickaxe rest next to his leg, a not so impressed expression rested on his features. Herobrine was lying on the stone ground a few blocks away with his arms folded back and cradling his neck and head, looking relaxed and almost lazy with one leg propped up. The miner took it as a form of showing off, being able to rest while his clones to do the work for the challenge. "Can you please not scare me like that? I thought you were a mob, playing mind games on me is the last thing I need when I'm trying to win."
Herobrine kept his gaze on the stone ceiling above, he faintly beamed. "You don't have to worry about any mobs, they've all been taken care of here."
The miner shrugged. "Then why are you just lying there?"
Herobrine gave the man a quick glance before retuning his gaze to the ceiling. "I figured you could use the company, oh and if the light coming from the pickaxe or the natural skylight wasn't enough; then I could provide a torch if you'd like one."
Steve lightly grinned with playfully slanted brows. He didn't know if the ancient being was being honest or just trying to distract him, but he'd never say no to company. "I'm doing fine with the light emanating from the pick and I don't mind you over there, but you're not going to be slowing me down with distractions." He said and turned back around to mine out the gold. "I have to work twice as hard just to stay caught up, so try not to distract me too much alright?"
"I'll try not to, It was not my intention." His tone sounded more serious now. "I just can't help but wonder, why are you doing any of this for me?" He heard the miner stop hacking through the ore. "I understand that it's not only for me alone, but why? After everything we've been through, all those times I had threatened, tormented, frightened, and harmed you; that you'd still go through terrible odds and possibly even death for my sake?" He paused, but then continued before Steve could speak. "I even imprisoned you and allowed you to suffer in the Nether of all places, there were quite a few times where I had almost killed you as well. Yet you still call me a friend in spite of it all? Appreciated, but impractical."
Steve remained in place. "After all this time you still haven't grasped the concept yet? Have you forgotten what Lionel did for you and why he did it? I know he was never tortured, beaten, threatened or harmed by you, but he did sacrifice himself to defend you for the same reason that I'm going through the training and facing that beast."
Herobrine looked over at the miner and sat up.
"It's because we're friends Herobrine; that I'm willing to go through training and facing Ender, why I have forgiven all that you did to me, why I'm putting my life on the line." He went back to chipping at the ore before him, frowning sadly. "I know you didn't have many friends back then and that you are reclusive and the quiet lonesome type, I don't need history to tell me that with how you are now. You need more friends though, you don't deserve to be isolated and alone forever just because of what or who you are. I accepted you for that, you accepted me the same. We are friends despite everything, brothers even.
I'm happy to call you a friend and work towards freeing you to make you happy because that is what friends do." He then smiled warmly. Did Herobrine even realize it yet? He wondered. "It's why we're out here mining, something I really do enjoy though you might not. For happiness, for our friendship." He finished and sprinted over to the nearest exposed gold vein he could see.
Herobrine felt a sudden sharp pain in his head and grimaced as a low grunt escaped his lips as Steve ran, he raised one hand to his head and briefly squeezed his eyes shut.
...
"!kcab emoC !?rebmemeR !dneirf ruoy m'I"
...
His heart began to race, he could see the miner before him and a ghost-like version of the past miner in his mind running away from him; but one of them was in a desperate attempt to escape, dripping with fright and letting out pants of exhaustion and terrified mummers. He wanted to give chase to the current weakened and injured human but refrained, Herobrine coiled his fists and sat still, calming himself after another flash of that ancient memory provoked the deep seeded need to hunt and slay the mortal. He repressed the desire and focused on the miner's kind and genuine words, they were more than enough to bring him back to a serene state and was enough to get him to relax again.
He watched from a distance as the miner mined, Steve collected the exposed ores as fast as he could, moving from one place to another like a busy bee. He was so adamant on winning. Herobrine made sure to slow his pace some so that he doesn't completely over do it and demolishes the miner's confidence too much, he'll need great aplomb to train hard.
...
The miner mined away for awhile before Herobrine forced him to stop and take a break, he too had stopped mining and had summoned bottles of water to rehydrate in the warm tunnels underneath the orange desert. He also fixed Steve's bandages so that both of the miner's arms were free and he could use both hands if he wanted, only if he agreed to take it easy on the wounded side; in which Steve promised to so that he didn't have to work with only one hand anymore. He was also healing fairly nicely now, able to move the arm next to the injury with more ease but still felt a sting when moved it a little too much.
The mining duo had then sat down on a stone terrace and ate some steak and bread to refuel energy, or at least for Steve's sake they did; but Herobrine ate as well on the human's behalf and was delighted to taste beef once again. Once they were finished the miner was up and moving fast with commitment, almost completely confident that he was going to win, there were a lot of veins of exposed ores that reflected the light from the glowing pickaxe and revealed locations of many shining ores nearby. Herobrine however; continued to use his ability to see through stone to find the buried gold and dig it out. He could have used more powers and abilities if wanted, but he didn't want to totally trash Steve at the competition; so he limited himself to give the human a better fighting chance.
For a while, the true Herobrine sat at a distance and watched Steve doing what he did best; he could not stop the small smile that crept onto his face as the human struck at stone and gold. The man looked to be enjoying himself quite a lot, almost as if he was getting to do what he loved most after a long break from it. Which was true, Steve hadn't been able to mine hardly anything in the duration of his time in the cursed land, it was the entire reason he first came to the forbidden valley in the first place. To mine.
He was also very good at his job the old hero noticed, Steve was being very efficient to strike the right spots and extract larger chunks of gold, even with less than the average amount of swings to get the nugget out. The method to his swings also proved to be masterly and skillful, swinging at certain and precise angles to reduce the amount of energy and force needed; very conservative on strength. His mining skills were clearly shown in his efforts. -Impressive.- Herobrine acknowledged. Like Lionel had somewhat mastered his guarding profession, Steve appears to have mastered the mining profession. -Only a Stonewall.- He mused.
Though mining was not Herobrine's thing, he found that it wasn't all that bad. A bit time consuming and pointless to 'him' yes, but collecting the ores on his own instead of just taking them from somewhere else felt rewarding in a sense. He almost never uses his ability to see through walls, so it was a nice exercise of an infrequently used power; not to mention how pleasant it was to have someone to converse with. He wouldn't mind mining again with the mortal, but that was just being wishful; this was Steve's last mining trip and he hated to accept it. Hero's smile fell and he stood up off of the ground and began walking towards the busy human as the mortal moved through a tunnel.
They had been at this challenge long enough and the human was beginning to show signs of slowing down, they had acquired more than enough gold anyway. A couple of hours mining should have satisfied Steve.
Herobrine spotted the miner in a small gap along the side of cave, he looked to be very busy mining up the huge vein of gold he found, surprisingly there was gold directly adjacent from him in the small gap behind a thin layer of stone. Herobrine's frown deepened, he wasn't ready to talk about what happened in the Nightmare Realm after the miner disappeared from it; but it might not be so difficult to at least ask the guy a question or speak of what the man saw with his own eyes.
This was not a topic he could avoid forever, Steve's growing endeavor of facing Ender will eventually bring about his end; it was best to talk while they still could. Herobrine softly exhaled before walking into the gap and facing the wall, his back to the miner's as he summoned his pickaxe and mined for the buried ore.
Steve stopped ramming the pickaxe into the precious metal and took a quick glance over his shoulder to find the half-god mining through a layer of rock. A small smile crept onto his face as he returned to mining, it was nice having company in the caves, a challenge made it all the more fun.
The old hero exhaled, this would not be easy to ask but he must; now seemed like an opportune time.
"Steve, if I were to suddenly turn around and kill you, what would your last words be?"
"Hm?" Steve blinked and stopped in his pursuit to collect gold, he turned himself around to face the white-eyed man with a frown, the powerful being kept his back to him; rather slowly chipping down at the stone in front of him despite how quick he could be if he tried. A nervous grin crept onto the miner's face. "Wh-where did this suddenly come from?" He asked with lifted shoulders and a confused look.
"Just answer the question." Herobrine prodded with an irritancy in his dual tones, he then lightly growled before sighing, he stopped swinging his pick. "Please, as honest as you can answer. Don't ask why, I just want to know."
Still wasn't in a good mood it seems, but he was talking to him at least. "Well." Steve began, a bit nervous and apprehensive of such a subject of betrayal, he scratched the back of his head with his gaze on the duplicate's back. "I guess if you were to suddenly decide to kill me now, turning around and wedging that pick into my body; I guess my last words... or word would be... is why?"
...
"W-why?..."
...
Herobrine's body tensed up and his hold on the pickaxe tightened, he lightly shook and just kept his back to the miner as he stared at the ore he exposed. He could see that miner dying before him with the tool lodged in his upper torso with that pained expression, again all because of a single word. Why did Steve have to have the same response to the dying fearful miner that now plagued his thoughts?
"I'd ask why because I'd like to know the reason you'd kill me, like after everything we've been through together just for you to end it so abruptly and without a word? It'd be horrible." Steve gestured with his pick and outwardly slanted brows, his expression deflated and soft. "I'd want the truth, a valid reason hopefully; at least some explanation as to why you'd do it just so that my soul could rest in knowing why I had to die instead of never knowing. Hopefully over nothing for a poor cause, or just because you wanted to. At least your unstable nature would be a decent reason if you lost control again. Still. I would like some justification but I can't force it out of you, I obviously can't overpower you so I'd just have to accept my fate and hope you'd shed some truth before I pass."
...
"I'm using you as an object of my revenge."
...
"You existed."
...
-A valid reason huh?- His frown deepened. "I see. Sorry If I have brought you any concern or discomfort over the matter, I have absolutely no intentions in hurting you Steve; rest assured. I was merely... curious." He finally turned around to face the miner, his expression soft and hinting a bit of remorse. "It's just that I've been thinking it over after all the lives I've claimed and had to face them all over once again, I know hardly any of them and had taken their lives without so much as a shred of care or regret; and yet now I feel a heavy weight in my chest." Herobrine says as he places a hand over his upper torso. "Perhaps I feel more of this pain for some over others. Nonetheless, it's there for many. Why?"
Steve put on a sad smile. "You're feeling guilt. It's okay to do that, you weren't exactly yourself when you killed most of those people right? You forgot everything for the sake of revenge. You even left the foundation of morality that Lionel built for you because of great infliction, it's not your fault that you were conditioned to hate humans after all the torment they put you through over a crime that had you framed."
The ancient being shook his head in disagreement and held out his hand and pickaxe before the mortal. "But that does not excuse all the accounts of the killings, every life taken. Not one life can be brought back, not one soul can be restored; I cannot undo what these hands have done." His tones lightened, his head lowered. "Not everyone was responsible for my afflictions, even young ones suffered at my hands on the account of a few. Not all mortals were disgraceful, many though fearful would fight to survive and were actually admirable in their attempts." He gestured, his posture became ridged and his empty hand coiled.
"I realize it now, it took some time to consider it; but I've come to the conclusion that I'm in the wrong for slaying them. Even if it was for the sake of the debt to Ender, they did not deserve death. You helped me to see that as well as that dream. However; I cannot atone for all of the innocent blood shed, they're all gone and were wiped away mercilessly because I allowed my anger and Ender to persuade me that they all deserved to die."
"So Ender was an influence?" Steve asked curiously.
"It matters not." Herobrine added with narrowed eyes. "Even before he freed me of my curse and prison of the Nether; I wanted to kill all the humans of the stronghold in my rage, then more as I continued to burn physically in lava and mentally in resentment. I let what a small group had planned against me bring about much destruction of humans as a whole, I will not deny that I had allowed the vile nature within to take over and convince me of what I wanted and should do. It was very easy to agree to the End lord's deal as I wanted to rid humanity for what they did to me, both internally and through the hatred I had.
Even now I still hate humans as I cannot simply let go of such predictable petulant natures and actions, they all turned on me and condemned me even though I had done so much for some of them long ago. Even the ones who never saw Conner getting shot pinned the blame on me; just because they trust only in their own and not someone who once guarded their lives fervently for years. I do not belong to this world and humans will always reject me for my differences, it was quite a rough start when Lionel introduced me to the kingdom.
No one wanted to approach as I unintentionally struck fear into their hearts, everyone was afraid, my strength and powers terrified them for a long time until the Sovereign allowed me to become a sentinel. I always felt so out of place, an outcast, a being that didn't fit amongst the crowd; I was foolish to think that I ever could. Before being framed I was feared and hated by some, no matter how many lives I saved or protected I was still hated for being what I am."
"Herobrine, you understand humanity as a whole and hate them that way, but not as individuals despite how you see me or Lionel as we are." Steve vocally noted, now swaying his head in dispute. "You should meet more people, get to know others to see for yourself that there are more good people out there. Sure some will never like what they think isn't natural or what they fear or don't understand, but not everyone is like that. I'm not." He sweated a bit and frowned. "Or... I'm not anymore, you and Nigel gave me the opportunity to see that you weren't a monster after all. I didn't know the real you or your past, only what I was told through the experiences of others or old tales until you gave me the chance by sparing my life and showing me for yourself.
If people can get past your fear-striking influence and see the man you were and why you became that way, then see who you are now; they'd understand you. They'd see how good of a person you can become despite your powerful differences and nature if there could be a link of trust. They won't hate or fear you anymore." Steve then sighed, looking away. "Not everyone is the same, I'm sure you know that by now. The majority isn't everybody. We all are our own selves with our own opinions, personalities, and experiences. Not everyone will love you, but neither will everyone not hate you. I can't change your mind about hating humans as a whole, but I hope one day that you'll see that you don't have to."
Herobrine lowered his head a little as the miner returned his gaze towards him. "I'll consider your words, but don't expect me to change my opinion so quickly. I only brought up the topic because I thought I shouldn't feel guilt for killing what I hate, but I do." His frown deepened. "I don't know why, but the pain is there and it's heavy. Even if I hate them, I still wrongfully killed them. Why must I feel this way?"
The miner lightly smiled and set his pick against the side of the wall before placing his hands on the other's shoulders, the demi-god lifted his gaze to meet Steve's. "You've regained some of your humanity Brine, Lionel put it there; you lost it when he died and when you were horribly punished; then I guess I somehow made you recollect it? You know Lionel would never want to you harm others and obviously; I feel the same. I'm not sure if you're feeling guilt strictly because of us, but the fact that you feel anything at all is because you're not a monster; you have some good in you still. Remember that for me. You were once a hero."
"Good? Tch." Herobrine looked off to the side. "Someone like myself cannot be redeemed no matter what I do, I have done much more harm than good and it is irreversible. My hands are permanently stained by the blood of thousands, I fear this pain will follow me until the end of my time. How do I cope with it?" He asks, returning his gaze back to the miner with a look of disgrace.
Steve shook his head and his smile fell along with his arms on the other's shoulders. "I wish I could tell you Herobrine, I wish I could give you a direct answer and make everything seem okay; however I can't. What is done is done; it's part of your history no matter what you do from this point forward. The past cannot be erased. Sometimes things like this aren't able to be fixed, it's the consequences we have to live with; it's a part of reality and life. Not everything can be simply fixed with an apology and I'm sure there's many who'll never forgive you for your actions whether they be dead or alive, it's just the way things are unfortunately."
Herobrine briefly closed his eyes.
"It's a burden that you'll always have to bear I'm afraid, ...but it doesn't have to be a crushing weight. Acceptance helps, even of the things we regret; you'll have to move on from your past. But in order to move on you'll need to forgive yourself, don't let your past actions to drag you down into despair or define who you are 'now'. Don't repeat your past mistakes; learn from them. It's not entirely your fault anyway, sure you'll need to accept some accountability for your actions and the lives taken, but you weren't always a malicious killer; even if that was what you were intended to be from the very start."
"Forgive myself?"
"Yeah, you can't help what you are or were made to do, you can't help what you feel for humans after the wrongs and atrocities they've done to you. But if you want any way to cope or even to begin to heal then you'll need self-forgiveness, don't latch onto guilt, but don't bury it either. Growth as a person is accepting things the way they are and accepting yourself and the changes you've underwent, the next step after that would be trying to make amends I suppose. Be a hero again, protect people, fight for their cause even if you don't want to." The miner rubbed the back of his neck in uncertainty as Herobrine still hated humans and might not consider the idea. "I know you'll never be able to make it up to everyone you've slain, but it's better than nothing, it's a start if anything. Moving on will ease the pain of guilt, but it'll also help you grow as a person; it'll put your heart in the right place. I'm sure of it!
Most souls belong to Ender and the Endermen now, but if you could help me stop the beast, train me up well, then I'll do my best to set those souls free. It can't undo their suffering, but anything that helps them is worth it."
Herobrine lifted his head with a faint smile plastered on his face. "I see now." His smile quickly fell, as soon as it came it went. "I cannot undo anything I've done to all the slain mortals, but I will help you to stop Ender as best as I can; I'll make sure you are fully prepared against him. It will not be easy for me to move on so quickly, but your words have given me comfort and hope; I'll try to fix myself so that will be able to endure this weight of this guilt.
I suppose I could-" He paused from how odd saying such a thing made him feel, he held his hands out before him and angrily huffed. "I could try... and protect humans and stop hunting them. That'd make me a target of Ender's creatures should you fail, and I'd fight all that he sends at me no matter the numbers; but no more shall I stain these hands of innocent blood. Pathetic or not, not all humans merit the warrant of execution. So long as I retain control of course, there might be times where I am... not myself.
Thank you for helping me with this inner conflict brother, it is reassuring to know that I can try and cope instead of dwelling on the unchangeable."
"But wouldn't you be negating the debt?" Steve inquired with a little concern.
Herobrine shook his head and coiled his hands into fists. "Not if it's only being delayed, I have never called it off and shall not. Only Ender can call the debt over. However; I was never given any time limitations from the beginning and therefore have none, thus a loophole in our agreement. Ender will not like this sudden and indefinite delay, but I am tired of the endless debt."
Steve smiled in relief. "That's good. I'm also glad to be of help." He nodded and gently punched the white-eyed man on the shoulder. "You're welcome too, you know I'll always help you the best I can, because I know you'd do the same for me. You alone have helped me conquer so much of my fears and had opened my eyes to some hard truths of things; necessary truths; even if the lesson wasn't an easy one or in a direct way. I'd say that you helped me grow as a person too, I'm just a simple miner and yet here I'm preparing for either a really tough negotiation or battle that will determine your future and mine."
Steve then laughed at the ridiculousness of where he came from and where he was going. "And just to think a couple weeks ago I wanted to mine and had to go through such strenuous and burdensome situations and try to survive a raging misunderstood madman; just to end up going on a great adventure to save humanity, free an enraged soul, and stop a real monster? Ah... Nigel was right, I am looking for something more than mining, though it wasn't like I intended it from the start haha."
"We should have enough ores now, we can continue to mine if you wish but there is still something we have to do before training begins." He says, changing topic. "So Steve." Herobrine looked at the mortal and nodded towards the man's bag. "Are we finished or would you like to continue?"
The miner put his hands on his hips and tilted his head to the side a little. "I see you're done with talking huh?"
"For now, yes. I was expecting a much more difficult conversation and there's still some things I'm not ready to discuss, but you were patient and wise, you helped me with what I needed for the time being. You have my gratitude."
"Well." The miner began with a soft sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "If we have enough then we can stop here, I'm ready to get out of this heat anyway; we can mine again when I stop the End lord. You... would like to mine again right?"
Herobrine forced himself to nod. Not because he wanted to mine again with Steve, because he really did, but because he had no hope for the human succeeding his goal of bringing down the End beast and didn't want to upset his brother by not responding at all. There would be no more mining for the mortal, Ender's powers were devastating; even to him. How can one nearly defenseless human withstand such destructive forces that nearly destroyed his hands and arms with ease? Let alone a towering creature with sharp fangs, claws, mighty wings, and the power of fire and corrosion? Ender was formidable.
"Then let's go and smelt these things." Steve held up his bag and beamed as he shook it. "I'm curious as to why we need gold and just want to know already."
The ancient man sighed and put on a grin for the miner's sake, he made both diamond picks fade to dust and turned towards the exit of the cavern. "I thought you'd be more curious as to who won?"
...
"Forty seven?!" Steve gaped at the pile of the gold ores lying on the ground before the powerful man, Herobrine stood before him with folded arms just next to the stables of the fortress.
"That is correct, unfortunately you have only procured twenty-one." Herobrine smirked. "Though I did watch you nearly the entire time, your skills and methods of retrieving the gold was excellent to say the least. In copying your technique I was able to speed up the process for myself, you truly are a remarkable miner; good at what you do best." He complimented.
Steve gawked in disbelief and leaned back against a rail of the stable's fence, messaging his temple as he uncomfortably reclined on the old wood. Was he grateful for the compliment? Yes. Was he glad Herobrine went mining with him? Yes. Was he glad the old Hero actually had a good time and was even smiling at that very moment? Absolutely. But honestly, the guy should have gotten much more gold, especially if taking his techniques that he's been improving over all these years.
Herobrine let his arms fall to his sides and moved closer to the mortal. "You seem dissatisfied." He gestured. "You were not that far behind me."
Steve moved himself to lean back upright and gave a small glare to the old hero, he stretched his back with his arms and rolled his stiff neck. "Yeah, and I think you were going too easy on me."
"And that is a problem?" He asked with a raised brow.
The man exhaled heavily. "Sort of, I made the challenge for you to prove you power and totally smoke me. I knew I wasn't going to win from the very start, you can see through walls and do all sorts of crazy things with your powers. I wanted to be a challenger for you to make you feel better about mining and maybe even enjoy it and be happy, you didn't seem so interested in it at first but was forcing yourself to go along with it anyway. Copying my expertise should have ended the challenge a while ago, but instead you collected only that much in roughly three hours?"
Herobrine shook his head. "You expected better of me, but I slowed myself down and indeed went 'easy' on you from the start; that way you'd stand a fighting chance and not be devastated should I have gathered much more."
"You what? Wait a minute. ..." The human blinked in thought then suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter, confusing the ancient being as he carefully wrapped his arms around his chest and chuckled.
"What is it? Why are you laughing?" Herobrine eyed the man suspiciously.
"I acted the way I did to get you excited about mining and enjoy it, but you restrained yourself so that I wouldn't get bummed out if you collected too much?" He finished his laugh as Herobrine softly smirked.
"Ah, I understand now. I had a good time mining if that is what you are wondering, it's not the most exciting experience but if feels rewarding and it was exceptional to have a challenger; even if I'm too overpowered at it."
Steve nodded, eyes somewhat narrowed playfully. "Yeah yeah, rub it in oh 'powerful immortal'. Next time we do this however; no powers, just a pickaxe, some elbow grease, and running around in full competitive fashion. ... No clones. ... Oh, and no going easy on me either!" He quickly added.
Herobrine exhaled lowly. "Very well." He agreed. "Let's now focus on the gold, we'll need at least several ingots; we certainly have enough."
Steve gave the immortal a raised brow. "Where are we smelting these things anyway?"
Herobrine nodded his head past Steve towards the ends of the stable. "To the blacksmithing station just beyond the stables, there some furnaces that will be of use in there."
"There's a blacksmithing station out here? How come I didn't find it? Me and Stealth were all over the place last night."
"You didn't go beyond the stables then, now come along; there's much to do still in preparation." He stated blankly and walked past the miner, making all of his collected ores dissolve into the dust on the ground and be teleported elsewhere.
...
Herobrine had just placed a large stack of coals in the last furnace of the cobblestone structure as the miner walked about the spacious dusty interior looking at weapons, tools, armor sets, trophy mountings, armor stands, and through chests and barrels full of supplies; poking his head into just about every corner and section of the room and eyeing the walls with violet orbs full of interest. Herobrine however; loaded up all of the ores and watched as the flames danced in the furnaces, feeling a small sense of pride at their work being melted down to solid and purified bricks.
"Oh check this out Brine, it's a shield." Steve spoke up as he grabbed the large wooden and iron object and hoisted it up into the air for the other to see from across the room.
The ancient immortal glanced away from the smelting gold to the miner, seeing the object in question had him running a hand over his goatee and beard in thought. "Hmmm." He then snapped his fingers.
"Ah!" Steve nearly dropped the shield as it began to dissolve away in his hands. His expression of excitement falls to one of disappointment as it completely vanishes. "Oh come on, I was still checking it out." He says as he looks over at Herobrine.
"It may actually be of use to us, or you rather. Don't worry, you'll see it again soon enough."
"Alright." The miner let the thing disappear from his grasp before finally walking back over to the identical man adding more chunks of coal from a barrel nearby to another furnace. "How much longer on the ingots?" He asked with a flat frown, now feeling a bit bored.
"Not too long, I'm sending all finished ingots to a cold place to cool off for the time being, they'll be ready to use soon enough, we just have a few more to smelt and then they'll all be done."
Steve huffed. "You still haven't told me what we're even using them for, so what use will they have for our training session?" He asked out of restlessness.
With an irate sigh Herobrine moved away from the furnaces and headed out the door of the blacksmiths, holding out an arm and motioning his hand for the miner to follow on the way out. He was getting tired of the miner's impatience, time to finally take care of that. The two men exit the building and stop several feet away from the structure before the white-eyed man turns around and looks back at Steve. "You'll have to wait no longer, I'll finish taking care of what's left, since you seem eager to find out what the gold's use is then we'll do that right now." He gestures with a grin now on his face.
Steve gives an expression of unease and reeled back a step, the old hero grinning in that arrogant and devious way could only mean that he's not going to like what the immortal has planned. "And just what does the gold entail?" He asked reluctantly then swallowed nervously as the half-god raised both his arms out at his sides and swirling purple fumes and fog begins encircling them both and slowly crawl up their legs. "Uh..."
"We're going back to the Nether." The ancient being darkly chuckled as the miner's eyes widen, Steve began to take steps backwards as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face; he forced a nervous toothy smile as heat started nipping at his exposed flesh.
"Um, mind going by yourself this once? I'm suddenly not feeling so great, I don't think the steak from earlier had settled all that well." He said as he kept taking steps back and feeling his anxiety grow. "I think I'll go take a small nap in the servant's quarters and meet you back here in a litt-oof." He backed into a fleshy surface and spun around on heels to find another Herobrine standing there with a dubious smile. The copy then reached out and grabbed Steve by the wrist with a locking grip and narrowed his eyes, smirk withstanding.
"I don't think so miner, you've been wondering all this time about the gold's purpose and now you're going to find out whether you like it or not." He deeply chuckled again as Steve gaped, pushing the miner forward with him into the churning violet wisps and sinking down into the ground. Steve frowned with fearful eyes and visibly clenched teeth as the skies of the Overworld disappeared under a veil of purple.
...
...
Loud coughing erupts from the moving mists, a silhouette in the wisps staggers about for a moment until another form grabs it and steadies it.
"Did we really have to come back here? I was actually hoping that I never had to return to this awful place Brine." The miner twined as the purple clouds slowly dissipated, revealing both the ancient being and Steve now in a blistering hot world of lava, flames, ash, and crimson knolls. "It's way hotter than the badlands, a more hostile environment too. The Nether is a terrible place for people, I'm already feeling really thirsty and exhausted; we literally just got here."
"It's the only place where I know how to easily obtain a certain item we'll need, don't worry; we won't be here for too long. Besides, there's something I'd like to show you."
"I thought you could just get whatever you wanted by summoning it into your hands? Can you not do that at the moment and save us a trip in this Notch forsaken place?" Steve rubbed at his now drying eyes and finally looked to see himself standing on a patch of red colored grass-like plants and before a large open forest of huge red tree-shaped funguses with strange mycelium textured foliage at the tops. Large glowing chunks of mushrooms were hanging from the fungal stems in various places as red vines with dark leaves and bright colored thorns cascaded down on the undersides of the ruby colored mycelium. Small red and bright teal colored mushrooms along with other fungal forms and grasses coated the Netherrack ground all around the area, giving this aberrant biome a mystical and fictitious appeal.
Steve felt himself gape in awe at the bizarre and yet enthralling forest, it's nothing like he's ever seen before.
"No, what we're after I cannot simply summon to hand because it's made of multiple compounds that are of unknown origin to me, besides; it's in a liquid form which makes it even more difficult to obtain on will."
A sizzling sound had the miner whipping his head back to see Herobrine now forming an item in his hand, it was a gold helmet, this puzzled Steve. "Is that what became of our gold?" He asks as the hero hands it to him, he takes it in hand to examine the armor piece and turns it over to put overtop of his head; it fits perfectly and almost shines in the dark fiery realm.
Herobrine nods. "Some of our gold went to making it yes, you'll need it here in a minute. Come." He simply states, leaving the miner to ponder; then motions the man to follow him into the fungal terrain.
"If you made a helmet for my protection then I don't gold was the resource we should have went for, it a weak metal. Also, we're not at your fortress, so what exactly is this place?" Steve questions as he looks back and forth in wonderment of his new surroundings, almost too into sightseeing to even complain about the heat.
"I call it the Crimson Forest, almost everything you see here is made of fungus; even the stems of these tree-like mushrooms. They are also inflammable and host protection and hunting grounds for it residents."
The miner stopped for a brief moment with an expression of surprise and concern. "Uh, residents?" He asked and then moved forward again to catch up to Herobrine. "This place has dangerous mobs?"
"Correct."
"Of course it does, it is in the Nether." Steve replies with a dejected tone of voice as he wipes the slight moisture off the top of his forehead and hairline. As he does so he looks up to see a bright teal mushroom forest high above on an outcropping of Netherrack, it's vibrant color and strange spiral-shaped vines draws his attention and haves him momentarily slowing down to get a better look at it. "What's that?" He asks, then pointing up above. "Is that another Nether biome?"
Herobrine nodded though the miner wasn't looking at him. "Yes, that place however; is desolate in comparison, only Endermen gather there; for reasons that I still don't even know."
"Endermen?" Steve suddenly returned his gaze to the old hero and continued forward briskly in their walk, hoping to avoid mauve eyes and attracting the attention of somewhat peaceful and yet hostile mobs.
"I call it the Warped Forest, it has many similarities to the Crimson kind but there's a strange energy about it; that is what I believe may draw the black creatures to it and keeps other mobs out."
"Wait, Endermen in the Nether?" Steve inquired with a raised brow.
"Yes, there is no water here and the ender mobs seem to resist the extreme temperatures, making it a rather somewhat safe location to stay so long as they stay far from lava and fire. But that place is not our destination nor of any concern, the crimson forest inhabitants are what we're after. This place is very far from my fortress, but it does house some particularly intelligent mobs that will serve some use to us." His frown deepened and eyes narrowed. "That helmet you are wearing, make sure you do not take it off at all during our time here; otherwise you'll be in a lot of danger."
"Danger? From what?"
Herobrine slowed his pace to allow Steve to walk at his side. "Remember the zombiefied creatures that mostly blocked the hallways during the earlier time of being within my fortress?" He asked and saw the miner nod.
"Yeah, what of them?"
"We'll soon be encountering their not corrupted forms called piglins, they look and sound like an inferior species but are rather intelligent compared to most Nether mobs. They're also territorial and hostile to any creature within their territories, they wield crossbows and Nether gold swords and attack anything on site; with the exception of any creature possessing gold on them that is. They have a strong inclination to it and seem to horde and even worship the mineral, even trying to mine Nether gold will set them off in a frenzy or taking it from their bastions."
"Nether gold?" Steve mused, seeming highly interested in a minable material in the horrible realm. "There's gold here?"
Hero nodded. "Not only that but quartz, glowstone, and flint as well. It's not difficult to find these resources but gold in this particular environment is not safe to harvest though there's an abundance of it, not to forget that mining in these heated conditions would be too much for you Steve."
"Right." Steve bit his lip and glanced away after taking a small blow to his pride, it was very hot so it's not like he'd mine much of anything anyway, let alone risk getting attacked by gold obsessed pig people. "Hey, if these so called 'piglins' are just hostile Nether mobs, then couldn't you just control them? You know? Like other mobs here?" He shrugged then pointed to his helmet that was beginning to grow hot on his head. "So that I don't have my head burn up with this thing on?"
Now it was Herobrine to take a hit to his pride, he gnashed his teeth and huffed. "I wish it were so easy, but even I admit that these creatures are very stubborn and so driven by their greed of gold that I have a tough time taking over them. I can control them but they can easily break from my grasp if that mineral is within their sights, I shall not risk you taking harm by letting you around these creatures without having some gold of your own. So long as you keep that helmet on then they shall be non-hostile towards you."
"And you?" Steve wondered, Herobrine wasn't wearing any gold.
He held out his hand and a bright buttery colored brick formed in his hand. "I will be holding the gold, so I am fine."
"And the gold's use?" He prodded with a slightly irate tone and kept his eyes on the white-eyed man as they traversed. "What are we going to do with it and why are we going out to see these ... piglins?"
Herobrine stopped and held his arm out, making the miner come to an abrupt stop and 'oof' as he ran into the old hero's limb and stumble back a step. "There they are. About time we find them, I am familiar with this piglin tribe; they know what I have as I have come here multiple times and they seem to remember my scent." The ancient man lightly beamed as the pig-like mob horde came out from around the large fungus trees and red vines, jumping over blocks and snorting loudly and squealing at the sight of the ingot within his hold.
Steve quickly moved behind Herobrine and watched with wide worried eyes as upright and bipedal pig forms with droopy ears, tusks, tattered leather brown clothing, cloven hooves, and weapons in hooves rushed at them with vigor and eagerness. Almost looking ready to attack. There were even small piglins, like kid versions running up towards them too, some of the older piglins had golden armor pieces and sharp swords. To his surprise, the mass of the piglins came to a stop within blocks of him and Herobrine, all blank and pupil-less cloudy looking eyes were all fixed on the ingot in the hero's hand, staring as if it was an object of divinity; they were mesmerized.
"If you were wondering what the gold is for, well now I'll tell you. It's for bartering."
"Wait, we're going to trade with those things?" Steve asked as he carefully moved to the side behind Herobrine, his expression a soft mix of skepticism and anxiousness. He almost wished Herobrine would give him Bane back so that he could defend himself should something go terribly wrong.
"What's the matter miner? I am here, is there really any reason to be cowering behind me? I thought you feared nothing but losing what was most important to you?" The white-eyed man encouraged before making another gold bar appear in his free hand and holding it out to his friend. "Well?"
Herobrine was right, however; it still didn't mean that he wasn't nervous about getting up close to the mass of armed intimidating creatures that sounded like something from his nightmares. Steve swiped the back of his hand above his brow and softly exhaled. If Herobrine was wanting him to do this then there had to be a good reason, he did want to show him something after all. He trusted the old hero.
Steve reached over and took a hold of the gold ingot.