[CHAPTER IX]

[Legend of Herobrine]

Steve tried having his mind catch up with the all that has just transpired, having a rather difficult time understanding what the big deal was. Finally becoming fed up as neither man would answer any of his questions as they continued to converse between each other in growing panic, Steve suddenly snapped; standing to his feet while slamming both his palms hard against the wooden table to catch their attentions. "Okay! Just what is going on?! Who is this Herobrine guy?"

Melz could only shake his head, despair flashing in his green eyes while the Elder sighed softly, tired gaze checking through the windows of his home before speaking in a low tone, "What knowledge have you of a man… by the name of Herobrine?"

"Nothing! I thought I was making that very clear that I have no idea who you're talking about. I've never heard anyone talk about this person before now." Steve growled, not meaning to let his anger get the better of him, but he really didn't like not knowing what was happening.

Especially since it seemed to be involving him. "The most I know, which really isn't much, is I came across an old book from your library that was nothing more than a damn ghost story!"

The Elder hummed in understanding while turning to face the miner before walking up to him, lowering his voice as he continued, "I am not surprised. And you will not hear of him. No one speaks of his name… for you see his legends and myths are enough to distill fear into the hearts of all those who walk this island."

"Myths? But I thought this guy was real—?"

"He is." he simply responded while taking a seat at the table straight across from the front entrance to the house.

"Just who or what is he? And what does he seem to want from me?" Something wasn't adding up right…

The Elder took a deep breath in through his nose while motioning for Steve to sit back down, releasing a long sigh as if to calm himself before speaking in a low and serious tone. "Even though I knew this day would eventually have to come… I had hoped and prayed it never would. But alas— Listen carefully to the words I am about to tell you, Steve. For I am afraid I will only tell you them once." he began.

Melz stepped forwards, parting his lips to speak in a panic before the Elder quickly lifted his hand up to silence him, not once taking his greying eyes off of Steve's curious violet.

Sighing in defeat, Melz dropped himself in a seat right next to Steve, though his body remained stiff despite trying to relax himself.

After making sure the vender was going to remain silent, the Elder continued, lowering his hand onto the smooth wooden table. "There is… more to the legend of the 'Great Hero that will arrive to liberate this land from the darkness that lurks from deep within The End' that unfortunately has been kept from you. And I have… unfortunately not been entirely honest with you." he once again began, his voice very low as he leaned closer to Steve, the miner having a hard time hearing him so had no choice but to lean in as well.

"Long ago, before any of our times, there was a man who was the true definition of a hero. A warrior who fought hard and bravely to protect the kingdom he hailed from. Nothing could fall this solider as he was sent across the many biomes due to war. As time passed, he became an idol to many young men who shared dreams of fighting for their land. Before long, he started gaining high honors and praises from the people of his kingdom. And after becoming the head captain of their kingdom's entire army, his name became well known by the inhabitants all over the land. People in other biomes praised him and soon even began saying that the Great Notch himself favored this man, giving him the power to fall any man or Mob that would dare oppose him and the kingdom he fought for. His name… was Brine."

Steve narrowed his eyes as he paid close attention to every little detail to the story, vaguely catching a glimpse of Melz shuddering at the mentioned name.

"The legend of the Great Hero who would defeat the Ender Dragon lives nearly as long as this village. I think it might be because in a sense it all started here. The first Great Hero had succeeded in finding the gateway and entered, but for some reason did not slay the beast… That is all true. And how instead, he simply trapped it within its own domain. He then spent the remainder of his life protecting the tomb he had built around it for reasons unknown. Once he passed away however, the tomb's location faded along with him. And that was the end of the first Great Hero. But, since the dragon still lived, the legend too lived on! And so six hundred years later… the second Great Hero was born… though not yet discovered.

"The people who saw and witnessed Brine's greatness and majestic fighting skills began to speak of him being the next chosen Great Hero since, tallying the years up correctly, Brine's birth was during the year that marked the six hundredth. To them, it all fit so perfectly together! Nothing seemed to be able to stop him! And then the night came when Brine himself fought against and successfully slain an Enderman, gaining its precious Ender Pearl as his prize! When he began displaying the pearl as his latest trophy, the people of the land matched the legend up and identified him to be the next Great Hero. He had accepted the title with great honor. Thus, they started giving even higher honor to him… kneeling before him and offering him treasures as far as the naked eye could see. They even began changing the way they spoke his name both in his presence and not. The people no longer called him by his given birth name of Brine… instead the people all over the land began referring to him as… Great Herobrine…"

"Herobrine… Okay, I'm starting to see how this is making sense, I guess. But then… what happened to him? If he was so great and loved before… why is he so feared and hated now?" Steve asked. "Was it because he was killed before he could fulfill the legend? "

The Village Elder sighed heavily and sadly while looking down at his hands that were folded together neatly on top the table. "Guiltily, I admit that that is the part that had been… a lie. Brine was never murdered. No… In fact, he is far from dead. For you see, Steve, unfortunately… Brine was still only human underneath it all. Unlike the first Great Hero; he became power hungry. Greed had corrupted his mind and soul. Notch became aware of the darkness that began taking over him and went before him about it.

"Brine became enraged by Notch's accusation and challenged him. And after a great battle that no one was able to witness, Notch defeated Brine and, with much sorrow filling his heart, banished him for what everyone automatically believed was for all eternity to the only place Notch felt he belonged;" he paused to take a deep breath before lifting his greying eyes to look deeply into Steve's, "The Nether. Ever since then… the people no longer spoke of his greatness. Only his evil. Brine's name and glory was soon forgotten. Only Herobrine and the horrors he committed were all that remained within the memories of the people."

"I… see." Steve hummed to himself while looking down at his own hands, feeling a small twinge of pity for a man he's never met before. "So then… despite what he said in my dream, he's unable to return here? He's stuck in the Nether forever?" Steve asked, still trying to take in all this new information and keep it all organized.

The shake of the Elder's head for some reason caused a heavy and cold feeling to form in Steve's gut, his words not helping ease the sensation, "No. Should someone in the Overworld build a gateway into that which has become Herobrine's world called a Nether Portal… then and only then can the demon return."

"Alright. So… has anyone tried to actually build a portal out of sheer stupidity to see if the legends were true?" he asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

Steve's choice of words caused a small fit of laughter from the Elder, brightening the atmosphere albeit minutely, "There have been many who have sought out ways to build a Nether Portal to allow Herobrine the passage needed to return into our world. There are even those whom worship Herobrine as their god of hell. Fortunately, not many people know how to build a portal correctly. And those who do know have no way of obtaining the material needed to construct one. Even if they did manage to come across the proper materials needed, the stone is far too heavy to be able to lift and build the correct gateway."

"S-so… as it stands…? H-Herobrine cannot return…?" Melz asked, still shaken by the whole conversation.

The Elder nodded, easing the man's fears greatly.

"And you know all this because of the stories passed down in your family." Steve pointed out, not going into detail since Melz was sitting with them and was unsure if the villagers knew of the Elder's connection with the myths. Receiving a curt nod, Steve continued; "Okay. I've got the story and everything… But what I still don't understand is… what does he seem to want from me? What do I possibly have to do with Herobrine?" Steve dug the heels of his palms into his closed eyes, groaning as his head began aching.

"Sadly… I cannot say. That is something I do not understand myself, Steve. Nowhere in any myths or legends is there any kind of mentioning of Herobrine desiring anything from the Great Hero. Though I have heard some people speak speculations long ago… that they fear should Herobrine ever manage to escape his banishment, he may seek out the next Hero to kill him and take his place. They believe Herobrine to be harboring great jealousy and loathing towards whoever the next Great Hero will be… And I suppose that would make sense. I mean, he becomes the legendary Great Hero in his time, hearing stories of the first that I am sure encouraged his knightly career whilst he was younger, only for the title to taken from him and given to the next in line. Despite it being his own downfall… you can still understand. However, my family long ago began fearing that Herobrine, whose hunger for power may still remain strong, seeks passage into The End, to find more power. Those could be the only plausible reasoning's I could see the demon possibly having any form of interest in you..."

"But how can he still be alive? Clearly he's over six hundred years old, right? So how is it possible? Is he like a ghost or something?"

"The legends say that Notch will one day approach the Great Hero, and offer unto him the gift of immortality. They say that the first Hero declined it, but perhaps the second accepted?" Melz surprisingly chirped in, his voice low and serious.

Steve hummed while looking away. For some reason, he wasn't so sure that was all… He thought about telling them the rest of what had happened in his dream, about the strange interaction between them, but pride and embarrassment were both preventing him from doing so.

It was strange… Though he sacred the living shit out of him, Herobrine didn't come off as being extremely hateful towards him. He didn't try to harm him or threaten him directly. Sure he spoke of killing the villagers, which was enough to warrant the man was a danger… but he never once threatened him. So the first possible idea of Herobrine wanting to murder him and take back the title as the Great Hero didn't seem like the case.

He's already labeled the man as clearly dangerous. Just on the sole factor that with that first encounter alone; he acted nothing like what these people were describing him as… beginning to make Steve fear he was highly unpredictable.

Could he be bipolar? Or possibly just a master of acting and masking his emotions?

And what about the idea of him wanting into The End? Surely if that were the real reason… then it would explain why Herobrine wasn't hostile towards him. Thinking about it… it made perfect sense actually. If you were seeking entry into a place that only one person on the whole planet has the key to, wouldn't you try to gain their trust and become their best friend? So if that were the case… was it really necessary for Herobrine to act the way he did towards him?

Something wasn't settling right in Steve's stomach. Herobrine was clearly up to something and he felt the demon desires much more than anything they could guess.

But what could it be?

Feeling his cheeks heating up in embarrassment at the memories of the dream, his eyes opened wide upon suddenly feeling a sharp sting of arousal mixed with growing anxiety surge through his stomach before settling between his legs, pure shock and disgust plowing into him next and causing him to unexpectedly push himself to his feet with enough force to knock over the chair he was sitting in, startling all three of them. "I, um… I'm sorry." he began while righting the chair. "I'm… I'm just really tired a-and my head is hurting from trying to understand all of this new information all at once. So I'm… I'm just going to go home a-and try to get some more sleep." He continued excusing himself while making his way almost clumsily towards the door, both Melz and the Elder eying Steve suspiciously.

They both watched him as he left, shutting the door a little too loudly unintentionally. Turning towards the younger man after a few seconds, the Elder raised a brow, "Did Steve mention anything… else accruing in this dream of his?" he asked.

Looking from the closed door towards the older man, Melz shook his head, "No. Everything he told you was exactly the same he told to me."

"Hmmm." the Elder looked away, an uneasy feeling settling over him.

Taking deep breaths to try and calm his nerves, Steve slowed in his pace back towards his house. He hadn't realized he had been running until fatigue washed over him and his lungs began burning. Pausing about halfway there, he looked up, seeing his residence just up ahead. He frowned while digging his hands into his pockets.

He didn't want to go back home just yet.

But with the moon still high in the sky and the Mobs just outside the outskirts of the growing town, Steve really didn't have much of a choice. So with a heavy sigh, Steve turned his back towards his house and began walking towards the center of the village, a faint smile gracing his lips upon seeing the Iron golem grabbing a zombie by the throat and throwing it nearly out of the village.

Leaning up against the side of one of the many houses, Steve watched the large giant taking out more and more mobs as they continued approaching the area upon seeing Steve. Lowering his gaze towards the sand, his shoulders slumped as he allowed his brain to think almost on its own.

'What is wrong with me? Why am I getting so worked up over that stupid dream? And… and why do I feel the way I do whenever I think about… him…? It's disgusting! He's a man for fuck's sake!'

Feeling his anger rising the more he tried to come up with a plausible solution, Steve took a deep steady breath to calm himself, opting to think about something else in an attempt to help himself relax; 'So THAT was the second legendary Great Hero, hunh? What I don't get is if he's stuck in the Nether, then how was he able to communicate with me like that? Does he really have that kind of ability? And if he was human… how can he have powers like that? Did Notch grant them to him as well before he had gone mad?'

So many questions continued to ache his exhausted mind, earning a low growl of annoyance from the miner as he pushed himself off the wall and began slowly making his way back towards his home.

"I'm just over tired and over thinking. That's all." He reasoned with himself after making it back home and stripping himself of his clothing in exchange for his sleep wear. After lying down for a few moments, his mind was eventually able to drift off to sleep.

It had been about two weeks since Herobrine came to him in his dream like that.

After that, he heard or saw nothing more of the man. That didn't keep him from constantly watching out for those eyes…

The village elder had come to him a few days after the dream, informing Steve of what his next move should be. And so, from that morning until now, Steve spent most of his days resting, and his nights hunting down any Endermen that drew close enough to the village.

But as the nights went on and Steve found he only had managed to collect only five pearls, he was beginning to notice that the strange Mobs were becoming more and more scarce… Almost as if they were becoming aware that they were being hunted and were purposely staying out of the village.

Despite this, he refused to venture too far from the village. He told everyone it was because he didn't want to leave them all unprotected, regardless of the faithful Iron golem.

But in actuality… the truth was really because he was still so shaken up by that bizarre dream.

"It's been weeks now, Steve. You can calm down and just move on." he told himself after finishing his late dinner. Stretching while walking towards his bed, he slipped into a pair of black shorts before climbing into his bed.

Settling against the mattress, Steve let out a long yawn while shutting his eyes, body aching and pleading for a decent night's worth of sleep.

And as time passed, he eventually slipped into a content slumber…

That is until an almost unbearable heat began suffocating him, causing him to gasp while violet eyes snapped open at the playfully whispered voice of his name-

"Oh, Stevie—?"

The first thing that nearly blinded his vision was the bright glow and intense heat coming from the lava that was all around him. Dizzy from the smoldering heat and height of the strange building he was on top of, Steve nearly fell backwards as he scrambled away from the edge of the balcony that overlooked a sea of lava.

The building was made of a strange hard stone of a dark maroon color, as well as the stone fencing that lined the edge of the balcony.

Fear beginning to overcome his shock, Steve swallowed in a futile attempt to dampen his parched throat while quickly turning around to run down the stairs that led deep into the fortress, hoping to find some relief from the heat.

However... the young human stopped dead in his tracks, eyes open wide while his heart skipped a few beats...

Standing behind him and blocking the entrance to the staircase was Herobrine; the demon smirking while chuckling as he stared the miner down—

"Welcome to my world…"

'Oh fuck.'

To Be Continued…

A/N - Sorry for the late update! And sorry this chapter is short! If anyone follows me on Twitter, you'd know I just started a new job and it's been stealing my time. 3 weeks of training at 40 hours a week on top of my first job! And I've only finished up week 2! *head desk*

But, now that I'm getting into the flow at my new job and catching on, it's not so bad! So I'm hoping to get this story cranking out with more frequent updates. :3

Hope everyone is still enjoying it and please don't hate me for the horrible cliffy!

*Again a huge special thanks to slingading for the fantastic cover art for this story! Thank you so much and much love to you!*