Song of the Chapter: Bring me to Life by Evanescence
5 Days until destruction
Time: 9:34 p.m.
Location: Alter
Herobrine tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the animal to show up with what he sent him out for. It shouldn't take this long to un-dig a grave and get a body. It should be quick and quiet unless you running trouble. Knowing the damn squid, he probably had gotten into troub-
"Sorry it took so long," the animal grunted as he dragged in what he was sent for. "There was a bit of a bump in my original plan, but I managed to work around it."
Herobrine shook his head, exasperated and annoyed. "Fine, just set it under the alter. I'll get the rest of what we need."
The animal walked towards the totem, dragging it behind him by a tentacle. He started muttering to himself, a bad habit of his, and let the thing fall to the bottom of the totem.
Already, the top block had started to flare slightly. And that was just with the body. Imagine it with the soul actually alive and breathing.
Herobrine grinned slightly and turned on his heel. "Now, you will go back to the Overworld. Rally up my son's friends, claiming you had nearly gotten 'kidnapped' by me. Tell them you managed to get away, but you were not able to save the flea-bitten dog-"
"Bacca."
"Whatever, same thing."
"Well, not really. A dog runs on all fours. A bacca stands upright and acts like a human. Just like how octopi have eight tentacles and squids have-"
"Yes, you have told me this before. I am very aware that your kind has only six tentacles. Now, if you would-"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Go bring the other humans here. What from there?"
Herobrine growled at the squid's snarky attitude. He glared at the animal, then started walking down one hallway. "Get rid of them. Stab them in the back, but do not draw it out. I know you want your revenge for them getting rid of you, but do not be stupid. You know that if you were to drag it out and make then suffer that you will fail. Just get it over with."
The squid nodded as Herobrine stalked away from the alter, towards his son and the spirit.
Location: Jail cell
Jerome heard banging. Really loud banging. It took his brain a moment to register the noise and when it did, his eyelids fluttered open. There was a... person kicking his cell's door in. Blinking, the bacca sat up, then stood up. "Hm?"
"Ssh," the person hushed, "they can only hear what noise out bodies make, not natural noises. Hush up."
With a few more licks, the door finally creaked open. It was Jordan. Jason was standing behind him, lacking the full-body suit he usually wore. Instead, it was just his helmet. But immediately, the bacca's eyes traveled to his shoulder, where a silver feather was scarred into the spaceman's skin.
His own scar burned underneath his fur, as if it was reliving the feeling of the dagger. Jerome stood shakily, leaning against the wall then walking out of the cage door. "Jordan, your dad-"
"Ssh!" Jordan hushed, then pointed to the left of them. A strange, gargoyle-like creature was perched in a window. It had inky black skin, bony wings, and sharp, foot-long claws. It's face was blank except for two tall, feathery ears where its eyes should have been. No nostrils, no mouth, no eyes. Now Jerome understood why he should be quiet, it must rely on sound to navigate.
Seto was staring at the creature. Imps, Jordan had called them. The devil's helpers. The demigod had described them in startling detail before they had even come across one, too. He described them as devious little creatures, bloodthirsty. They wouldn't think twice about striking you down and killing you brutally. Dangerous to be around if they were in a bad mood. Jordan also said they could be your best friend, if raised and tamed right-more loyal than a dog would be.
But Seto, even though he was a ghost, didn't want to chance it.
The sorcerer glanced over his shoulder at the three, sighing quietly. He floated over to Jordan and spoke, thinking that the imp wouldn't hear him since he's dead. "Jordan, where would your fath-"
That was as at as he got before the imp sprung into the air, fast as lightning. It clicked it's claws together and leaped at Seto, falling through the ghost's body only to try to attack him again.
Instantly, Jordan grabbed its ears. The imp screeched, making a muffled noise from the back of its throat. The animal reached up and tried to claw at the demigod, only to be wrangled to the ground.
"pmi, em ot netsil ouY," Jordan hissed at it, wrapping his arms around the little creature so he could keep it from running away. The imp froze for a moment, ears twitching. Slowly, Jordan stood and dusted himself off. The imp remained on the ground, cowering before the demigod.
Jordan glared at it behind the replacement shades and spoke a few more clipped words in the unfamiliar language. The creature visibly shook, then turned on its heel and darted away. Jerome blinked and looked after the imp. "What?... Just happened?"
Herobrine smirked at the imp as it ran towards him. He knelt down and stretched out an arm, expecting for it to run to him. Instead, the imp swerved and raced away. For a moment, the demon was confused. Then his smirk grew and he stood, continuing down the specific hallway. Jordan was his way.
He stayed low, following he faint sound of voices. Herobrine peered around a corner, and there they were. The two with the scars, the ghost, and his son. He only needed the ghost, the animal could deal with the rest. The small group turned and started in his direction, blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked ahead of them.
But the ghost could sense that Herobrine was close. He could tell by the way the ghost glanced around, keeping as close to Jordan as possible without making it awkward. When Jordan shoved the ghost away slightly, pretending to reach out to make the other two stop, Herobrine pounced.
Seto knew something was up, he could feel it in the very essence of his being. A danger was near to them. His subconscious mind made him move closer to Jordan, but the demigod pushed him away slightly, casting a warning glance at the ghost.
He kept his arm out and put a finger to his lips. "I think-"
That was when it went all to hell.
The demon himself jumped at Seto, taking the ghost by surprise. A wall of pure fire swept around him and the ex-god. When the flames settled down, Herobrine had Seto in a headlock. By the collective gasp from Jason and Jerome, he could tell that they could see him. Somehow, some of the demon's power had let them. Maybe it was just that extra boost that Seto needed to be more alive, but still dead.
Herobrine smirked, then he and Seto disappeared.
Location: Alter
The animal stared as the ghost was dragged in, struggling to get free of Herobrine's grasp. He watched, slightly amused, as Seto was set down on the alter, right next to his own body. "I take it went well?"
Herobrine grunted, and jerked his head as a signal for him to come over and hold the struggling ghost. "I thought you would have left already."
The squid shrugged, simply, waving a new tentacle through the air. "I decided to stay and help."
"You won't be much help right now, just keep him down."
"Aye aye, Captain Brine."
The ex-god scowled and took a few steps away from the alter, raising his hands. He muttered something intelligible, and suddenly a silvery purple light erupted from the soon-to-be-inhabited body. The light slowly turned a shade of crimson violet, and the squid could practically taste the dark magic in the air.
Suddenly, the ghost screamed, colors flickering from red an purple and silver. The animal jumped away in surprise, but the spirit wasn't going to move anywhere.
Pain.
That was all there was. It felt like he was dying again. But in a different way. The ghost clutched at his chest, feeling something twist there. Deep down, somewhere in his subconsciousness, something ripped apart. He froze, face plastered with pain and shock before he fell back to the ground, limp.
Two things happened that Seto was aware of:
He felt empty suddenly, but it didn't last long as he dissipated into nothingness. And then he took a breath. A breath of actual air. Hot and dry, but air. Seto blinked once, twice, thrice. Nether brick was under him, rough and heated. He could feel, actually feel!
Seto's eyes widened and he tried to air up, suddenly very tired now. Gravity pressed down on him, something he hadn't felt for a month.
Then a hand wrapped around his throat, stealing away the newly achieved oxygen. Seto gasped for the wanted air as he was lifted off the ground. A blade was pressed against his shoulder, and it made him jump. His skin and body were sensitive, not used to feeling.
Seto lifted his eyes from the ground to stare into white orbs. But he wasn't scared, not anymore. He felt numb, somehow; as if he didn't care that he was probably staring into death's eyes once again.
"What is the secret to Ecnorite?"
At the mention if the fifth element, Seto stilled, eyes wide. "N-no..." he whispered, "I won't- I won't tell you!"
The demon grasped his throat even tighter, completely blocking off his airway. Seto choked, bringing a shaky hand up to pry at the iron grip.
"Do you want to die again, only to be brought back to life?"
Against his will, his now-beating heart skipped a beat. No, not that torture again. He couldn't do it. Finally, after a long, suffocated silence, he opened his mouth and spoke. "I will never tell you."
Little wisps of silvery purple were starting to curl around the sorcerer. From the way Herobrine's eyes suddenly flashed in anger, Seto knew that the ex-god had noticed the magic. Seto weakly lifted an arm, and a burst of light shot out, slamming into Herobrine's chest. The demon was flung to the other side of the room, where he crashed into the wall.
When the dust settled, Seto was standing tall, strength suddenly flooding through him. He clenched a fist, and swiped it through the air. A few blocks sprung up from the ground, then rushed through the air towards Herobrine. The demon retaliated by kicking out, creating a gust of wind that knocked the Nether Brick's path off. The maroon brick sailed into the wall, nearly hitting the animal who jumped out of the way.
The sorcerer scowled and moved a few more blocks around him, creating a make-shift shield as fire swept across the ground. He raised a hand into the air, flicking his wrist to the left. Shards of quartz zoomed towards the demon, sharp points glinting in the light of the fire. Herobrine brought up a wall of ice, stopping the shards in their tracks.
The battle continued for a while. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours; Seto didn't know and he didn't care, right now he was focused on just keeping himself alive. The animal had gone at the beginning of the fight, slipping back into the portal to the Overworld. Neither Seto or Herobrine had paid much attention to him. It was surprisingly an almost-even fight (though Seto rarely got any chance to strike). But in the end, Herobrine got the upper hand over the sorcerer, pinning him to the ground with that evil blade pressed against his arm.
"Now," the demon said, "what was that secret you wanted to tell me?"