Epilogue

Andr stayed in a nearby cave with the others—the same one they'd stayed at earlier. Once Jack had left to meet his siblings, Andr and the mobs had retreated from Ironhand, still accompanied by the Hunters. The tension that hung in the air at the beginning of the journey had become a shadow of itself—present, but very, very weak. They'd really gotten used to each other.

Andr wondered if that would've been the case if Raulyn hadn't been a mob. Her darker mind doubted it. Or maybe it was some newfound sense of cynicism.

She also wondered if the Hunters felt any regret for their past actions.

She looked at her trembling, bloodstained hands. Speaking of regret…

She had separated herself from the others. There were some things that bothered her—like who she'd become throughout the trip. The darkness that had overtaken her had mostly subsided, but the memories of her killing Valkyrie after Valkyrie lingered. It had been scarily easy, yet some part of her was proud of how she'd kept some kind of composure during the fighting, how her actions might've contributed to the others' survival, how she hadn't frozen up in fear. Mystia's potions, Blazette's fire and the Hunters' training were a potent combination, but without Andr, at least one of them would've probably died. Rayallv and Ilyoin almost had.

None of that took away that she was still covered in dried blood though. Whoever that monster within her was, whatever kind of person she would've become had she not lost her memory all those years ago, it was more effective than her. Less emotional. Yet they had only begun to really emerge when Jack died. And even now, it wasn't fully gone. It had tasted freedom, and now she couldn't return it to its cage.

Her 'other self' had been…obsessed to get him back unharmed. Not just determined; obsessed.

She shivered a bit. Even Jack had appeared scared of her at some point, and for good reason. She just hoped that wasn't the case any longer.

But there was something else. Something Jack had said just now. Something she couldn't place, yet sounded strikingly familiar.

She looked up from her trance and went to find Mystia. The witch seemed to have some things to process of her own, as she'd gone to the cave's entrance and looked out to Ironhand. She acknowledged Andr with a glance.

"Mystia," Andr said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Andr hesitated. "Who is Krysphion?"

That seemed to catch the witch's attention. "Where'd you hear that name?"

"Jack mentioned it."

"Jack mentioned Krysphion?" Mystia said, maybe a little too loudly.

From the corner of her eye, Andr noticed some of the Hunters turning their heads to them.

Mystia saw it too. "Kai?" she said. "Isn't Krysphion an Elyfotist god?"

"Yes," Kai affirmed. "A dragoness. Queen of a world known as the End."

"Since when does Jack know anything about our religions?" Mystia wondered. "I never mentioned it to him. Does Elyfotism exist on Earth?"

"Maybe one of your other friends mentioned it," offered Rayallv.

"That doesn't explain why he'd ask me about it," Andr said. "Or…why it sounds so familiar to me."

"There are many Elyfotists across the Overworld," Ilyoin said. "Even if you live outside human society, you may have heard about it."

Andr nodded, but she knew for sure that that wasn't the case. The name felt too…personal.

"Kai?" she finally said. "Do you have any…texts about Krysphion that I can borrow?"

Jack sat at the empty table in the Hunters' headquarters. None of the other Hunters were in the room, thankfully. He was all alone.

Ruby and Dean were here. They were here. He'd been sure Herobrine couldn't do this again—not after he'd tested the patience of his peers by constantly bending or breaking the Rule, and especially not after the Nether got destroyed. Jack reckoned Herobrine was busy rebuilding the place or something. If he wasn't dead.

But who else could've done it? And why hadn't Tristan mentioned it in the Aether? He would've absolutely seen something like this happen!

Raulyn entered the room, his eyes a human brown. None of the other Hunters besides Kai, Galen, Ilyoin and Rayallv knew about him being a mob, and they hadn't shared it with anyone so far.

Raulyn sat down at the table.

"So," the Hunter said. "Besides Herobrine, you have no other ideas as to who may have brought them here."

Jack shook his head.

"And you know nothing about any other—"

"I don't know anything about this," Jack snapped. "I don't know why or how they're here—for fuck's sake, I still just barely understand why I am here!"

Raulyn fell silent.

Jack turned to him. "Can we just focus on what we do know?"

Raulyn nodded. "They have been here for less than a week. Apparently they appeared shortly after we left for the Aether, and given our history with…humans from other worlds, the other Hunters imprisoned them."

"Guess I should be thankful they're still alive."

"I will not let any harm come to them, but if we are to maintain their safety, we have to keep my true nature a secret for now. I would certainly lose authority if the others found out that I am a mob."

Jack snarled. "So you're just going to keep hunting mobs?"

"If I try to steer the Hunters away from that, they would think I have become too merciful. That would cost me just as much credibility. Perhaps I can take measures to keep mobs away from Ironhand, but that would have to be done in absolute secrecy. I will need help with that."

"I'll give it to you."

He shook his head. "Not from you. I trust Kai, Galen, Ilyoin and Rayallv enough. I can send them out without arousing suspicion from the other Hunters. You, on the other hand, would have to remain completely hidden during such operations."

"Maybe the mobs can help," Jack said. "They might be interested if it means saving other mobs, and they're good at moving around quickly and quietly."

"Would they not want to reunite with those you have parted with?"

"I wasn't promising anything."

"And what of you? I am unsure if I can let your siblings go free for any reason. Maintaining my status and reputation is more important than ever if I am to help you."

"Let me talk to the mobs. But Dean and Ruby are coming with us. Maybe Andr can take them or something."

"Very well. But first, let me see what I can do from my end." Raulyn stood up and moved to leave.

Jack hesitated. "Why're you helping me?"

Raulyn stopped.

"In fact, why're you helping Ironhand?" Jack asked. "They'd kill you if they knew what you were, no matter how many mobs you've hunted so far."

Raulyn's gaze darkened. "My mentor Karles knew what I was, and he raised me to protect this place. Mob or not, these are my people, and I must protect them. It may be a first step to a peace between human and mob."

"You're really singing a different tune now than before, huh…"

Raulyn glanced at him. "Turning against Ironhand would only reinforce humanity's prejudices."

"Would that be the prejudices the Hunters are built on?" Jack bit back.

Raulyn said nothing. Finally he turned and left. Jack watched him go.

Then he himself stood up and let Crius—one of the guards from before who was waiting outside—escort him to where the mobs had gone.

Jack felt tired, and there was so much to do, still. Free Dean and Ruby, take them to where the other mobs had gone, and then resume looking for a way to reach Earth.

But as he looked up at the sky, he recalled what he'd faced so far. The Hunters. Áhýdan. Herskagul. He'd beaten them. With help, yes, but in the end, those forces had lost.

This was just the next step. He'd get through this. He'd make his way home, eventually.

He had to.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE:

I've got…some bad news for you all. I think some of you might already know what it's about.

As you may have guessed by how this ending was presented, I was planning to add an episode 4 to this series. It would be the concluding book to wrap up the remaining loose ends.

Here's the thing though: Remember how Gone Rogue 2 AND 3 had their fair share of long hiatuses, to the point where the entire series so far took several years to publish? One reason for this has to do with my dwindling motivation to keep writing Gone Rogue. Frankly, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to write an episode 4. I might just cancel this series – something I haven't done to any prior series I've written. Believe me, I take no pleasure in the idea.

I've had some ideas for episode 4. I've also been toying around with a remake (improved worldbuilding based on the newer Minecraft updates; characters with altered personalities, motivations, complexities and arcs; etc.), though this might never see the light of day either (and if it will, it certainly won't happen overnight).

I'm going to sleep on this for a while; should I ultimately decide to cancel the series, I'll leave one final chapter to THIS fic to list my ideas for what I had in mind for episode 4.

On the off-chance that I decide to continue the series after all…then, to be continued in Gone Rogue 4: Lands Afar.