Frozen Hell
Herobrine looked around shocked! This couldn't be!
"Well, I've never been to the Nether," he heard Jason say at that moment, his voice hesitant, as he had just emerged from the cave with the others, "but I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be this cold…"
Herobrine scoffed in annoyance as he heard that!
"Of course, it shouldn't be!" he hissed angrily, before he turned around and looked around in disbelief.
He couldn't believe it!
The place that had tormented him for centuries with its unbearable heat, burning blocks, sulfuric smell, and lava flows, was now cold and peaceful?! Herobrine clenched his teeth and felt the anger welling up inside him.
He had hoped so much he could show these guys, especially Steve, a little bit of what he had endured here for centuries, but now it wouldn't happen.
Of course it wouldn't…
Herobrine looked down and felt a wave of powerlessness wash over him as he continued to gaze at the cold Nether.
It really seemed this dimension was trying to mock him whenever it could.
"Hey, are you alright?" he heard Roxana ask with a concerned voice a moment later, to which he only snorted contemptuously.
"Yeah, everything's fine," he replied grimly, before he turned around and gave the others a stern look.
"You know, you should all be grateful that the Nether isn't as it usually is," he continued without hesitation. "Otherwise, you would all be on your knees, whining and crying for minutes because of the heat and toxic fumes before we could even go anywhere!"
The others looked at him in shock as they heard his words, but he was fine with that!
If they couldn't experience this hell firsthand, they should at least be scared of it!
"I wonder why the Nether is like this at all," Steve mumbled in the meantime, before kneeling down and picking up a bit of snow, which he studied with a pensive look before another gust of wind swept it away from his hand.
"Maybe it was part of the update?" Roxana asked uncertainly, but Steve shook his head in response.
"I don't think so," he replied softly. "Normally Updates are just for one dimension at a time not for more and they are meant to create new stuff, not to destroy things that are already here."
"Why do you think this is destruction?" Einshine asked, grinning, as he looked around excitedly.
Unlike everyone else, he seemed to be in a rather good mood. "I see this as an improvement."
Herobrine glared at him angrily, as he heard that but before he could say anything Roxana stepped in.
"Well, no matter what it is, we have to go now!" she demanded sternly before turning to Herobrine. "Can... Can you show us the way?"
Herobrine stared at her for a moment, surprised by the trust in her green eyes, but eventually he snorted gruffly.
"Of course," he responded before he turned around and began to search for something that looked familiar.
However, due to the snow and ice, everything looked so different, so that even he had problems getting his bearings, which really pissed him off!
He SHOULD know where everything was! He was stuck here long enough to know every single block in the world by now and now he couldn't find his way around because of some stupid snow and ice?!
"What's wrong?" he heard Steve ask a moment later, his voice tinged with suspicion. "Don't tell me you don't know the way anymore?"
Herobrine glared at him angrily when he heard that!
"What are you talking about?!" he snapped "Of course, I do!"
,,Come on", he said grimly before he turned away and gestured for the others to follow him ,, it's not far."
And he was right.
They didn't have to walk around for long until his castle came into view.
However, it was still far and far below them, which was why, despite their good view of the castle, it would probably take a long time until they reached it.
Due to their short route, they unfortunately didn't have the opportunity to see more of the Nether, but what they had seen was already enough to frighten them!
The huge lake at the bottom of the dimension had frozen into obsidian, and the remaining lava flows had also cooled down.
Even the countless fires had gone out, making the Nether unusually dark, only lighten up by the few glowstone blocks that still remains on the ceiling.
All in all, a sight that Herobrine didn't like.
At least we have Roxana's wand to provide us with some light, he thought, looking at the pink-glowing stone that provided just enough illumination for them to see where they were going.
Normally, Herobrine would have been worried about the presence of the many hostile mobs here, but it soon turned out he didn't need to worry about that.
As if his thoughts had summoned it, a group of Piglins appeared at the edge of the light beam, but instead of attacking them, they lay motionless on the ground, covered in snow and ice, showing no signs of life.
Herobrine's heart sank as he looked at them.
All the mobs they had come across looked like this, frozen to death in the cold, but why was he surprised?
They were adapted to a hot, burning world, which helped them survive without any issues here. However, it also meant they struggled to stay when they encountered a place like the overworld which wasn't even half as hot and often caused them to die.
What a shame..., he thought, as the Piglins disappeared into the darkness again.
Mobs could become smarter the longer they live, but the process was long, and hardly any mob of the overworld surpassed its instincts before being slain or dying in some other way.
But the Nether mobs were different.
They had been left in peace for centuries, which made them significantly more dangerous and stronger than any mobs, except endermans of course. They became so clever that some of them could even suppress their instincts and interact with the Minecrafters, without killing them on sight.
The thought that they would now have to start from scratch again, somehow saddened Herobrine, leading him to the next question.
Could the mobs even start over when all of them had gone extinct?
But before he could dwell further on this, they turned a corner and he saw a massive, dark, yet familiar building loomed before him.
"Finally," he heard Roxana say beside him with a relieved voice a moment later, whereupon he noticed that her fingertips and lips where now slowly starting turning blue.
She was also covered in snow and shivering like everyone else, which made Herobrine wonder if this version of the Nether was really better or if it was just another side of the coin.
Different but still as bad as the other.
He, too, was shaking and trying not to chatter his teeth which was why he was relieved to have arrived at the castle. However, it also annoyed him greatly.
Normally he would have little or no problems with extreme temperatures but at this point, this was no surprise anymore.
Just another sign of how weak and helpless he was without his power...
"Alright, enough starring," he finally said with a grim look at Jason and Aurora, who stood next to Steve, gazing at the castle with a mix of awe and fear. "Let's go inside."
With those words, he turned away and walked without hesitation, taking more or less steady steps towards the tall, dark gates, which he almost never used.
They were surprisingly difficult to open, whether it was because of that or because of the snow and ice, he couldn't tell and for a moment, Herobrine feared they wouldn't open at all.
But thankfully, they eventually gave in. At least enough so that they were able to squeeze themself through.
The courtyard, though, didn't look any better than the rest of the Nether.
Here, everything was covered in snow, too, and the mobs that had usually stood guard here, layed also long frozen on the ground.
But Herobrine had only a brief glance for them.
Although he couldn't help but wonder if it had been a quick death or if it had taken days, perhaps even weeks, for them to freeze.
It seemed more like the former, since the mobs' bodies were scattered everywhere and not huddled in the corners or had tried to get into the building, as someone on the brink of freezing would typically do.
Why they didn't disintegrate into dust after their death, as they usually did, was still a mystery to Herobrine,but he forced himself not to dwell on it.
After all it was no longer important.
By now, they had reached a small door on the other side of the courtyard, leading them into the building. Fortunately, it was easier to open.
"You can consider yourselves lucky that I'm allowing you to enter my castle," he continued with a brief glance at the others, especially the Minecrafters and of cause Steve. "Normally, no one but Nuka would make it across this threshold alive!"
Before anyone could respond, he turned around and entered his castle.
Inside, it wasn't much warmer, but that didn't surprise Herobrine either.
After all, this fortress was designed to keep the heat out, and the cold inside, which would be perfect building if the Nether was normally.
Now it was a huge disadvantage but at least they were protected from the wind here.
Without checking whether the group was following him, Herobrine carried on, his breath hanging in the air as he walked through the now cold but still familiar corridors of his home.
He didn't like having them here at all, even though he had suggested getting here.
But he hadn't done it out of kindness or anything like that!
He had only done it for Nuka.
The others were nothing more than a necessary evil and he had no intention of giving them a pleasant time here or showing them more of his castle than he absolutely had to.
With that thought, Herobrine had stopped at a small inconspicuous door, which led to the kitchen, before promptly pushing it open and getting inside.
The others followed, while he remained in the doorway, until everyone was in.
"Okay, you and you," he continued without delay, addressing Einshine and Roxana. "Take Nuka, and then come with me."
"The rest of you stay here until I return," he continued in a sharp tone while Einshine swiftly took Nuka from Jason's back and hurried outside to join Roxana "Feel free to make yourselves food or rest or whatever you want, as long as you don't leave this room!"
But before anyone could answer him, he turned around and closed the door, then motioned for the other two to follow him.
While they were walking, he could feel this becoming increasingly difficult for him and dizziness had also resurfaced. But Herobrine was determined not to let this stop him!
After all, he didn't have too far to go.
Shortly after, they arrived at another door leading to Nuka's room that Herobrine opened more gently this time.
Inside, it was also chillingly cold and Herobrine found himself wondering how he could warm the room for Nuka, so that the boy wouldn't get sick upon everything else he was dealing with already.
However, he had to care about other things first.
"Lay him down there," he said wearily to Einshine, who quickly placed Nuka on his large canopy bed.
"Good. Now go and join the others,"
Einshine nodded at hearing that, visibly relieved to be dismissed before turning and leaving the room.
Now it was just Roxana and him.
"Okay," Herobrine muttered softly, while he swiftly covered Nuka with a blanket, before he turned and felt the dizziness intensify. "Now, we just need to get to the room where my brewing stands are, and then..."
He couldn't finish his sentence.
At that moment, he felt his legs giving way, and he stumbled, desperately trying to stay upright before crashing into a wall and then sliding to the ground!
"Herobrine!" he heard Roxana cry out in horror a second later. She knelt beside him, gently placing a hand on his forehead, while Herobrine tried to get back up.
Herobrine froze, initially alarmed by this unexpected touch but he was too exhausted to object anyway and he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't harm him.
With that thuoght, he leaned back and allowed her to continue, while closing his eyes and even caught himself enjoying her touch on several occasions, which now really annoyed but also worried him!
Getting along with it was fine, but enjoying? No! This was going in a completely wrong direction!
"Oh no! You're starting to burn up again," Roxana murmured worriedly, before Herobrine could think about this further. "The potion's effect must have worn off by now."
It seems like itHerobrine thuoght tiredly But it shouldn't have! Last time, the potion lasted for several hours, and its not even half that time yet!
He shuddered as he thought of the terrible reason that must have caused this but he couldn't show his fear to Roxana!
Instead, he shrugged indifferently.
"It doesn't matter," he replied grimly, attempting once more to sit up. "We'll just go to the brewing room, and then... and then you can make more..."
But, to his surprise, Roxana grabbed his shoulders and gently pushed him down, preventing him from getting up, which surprised and infuriated him!
Now he was so weak that even someone as slim as Roxana could easily stop him!
"No!" she protested loudly. "You can't go in this condition."
Herobrine glared at her angrily upon hearing this!
"Oh, and how else will you get there?" he snapped, causing Roxana to step back, evidently surprised by his sudden outburst.
But then she relaxed again and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear with a shy smile.
"Well... can't you just tell me where it is?"
Meanwhile, Einshine continued to run through the long corridors of Herobrine's castle.
He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he didn't care. He was just relieved to be away from Herobrine.
That guy still frightened him, even though he no longer had his powers but Einshine didn't want to worsen his relationship with the ruler of the Nether.
That was bad enough as it was.
At that moment, he turned a corner and was delighted to see the door that he knew would lead to the kitchen.
Glad that he remembered correctly, he flung the door open and froze when he saw Steve, Aurora, and Jason, who had stayed in the kitchen, staring at him with surprise and suspicion!
He managed to put on a wry smile before closing the door behind him and doing his best to ignore them.
They seemed to have been in the middle of a conversation before he entered but now they didn't seem to want to continue it in his presence, which didn't surprise him.
The chances of them discussing something that an outcast and a fugitive like him shouldn't hear were quite high.
Einshine grimaced at the thought.
This was the first time he was alone with the three of them and he didn't like it at all.
He knew that they were the ones in the group who would hate him the most and wanted to see him dead, aside from maybe Herobrine.
Well, this is uncomfortable, he thought nervously as he looked around for a distraction.
Suddenly, he noticed the two ovens on the wall near the three of them, radiating warmth and the crackling of a fire, along with the pleasant smell of food.
It seemed they had used their time to make some food, as he noted the full plates in front of them and he couldn't help but feel his mouth water at the thought.
But he certainly wasn't going to ask the three for some of it!
They'd probably deny it him anyway, if they had even made enough.
So he turned to the chests on his side and aimlessly searched for something edible until his eyes fell on a stack of cookies.
That will do! he thought contentedly before getting up and searching in the other chests for some milk, while a quiet conversation started again in the background. He couldn't hear it but he wasn't interested in it either way.
Instead, he turned to the other chests, only to find, to his joy, several buckets of liquids in one of them. Sadly he couldn't see the color of the liquids due to his visual impairment.
Einshine snorted in annoyance.
The mask he wore helped him see outlines of objects and people, in form of white glowing lines and showed him where everything was in the otherwise sea of black that surrounded him, but that was all it did.
Anything that didn't contrast with the background, like text or the texture and color of blocks, as well as things in the air, remained invisible to him.
Einshine didn't complain, though.
He was grateful to be able to see anything at all and would always find other ways to compensate for that, at least most of the time.
With that in mind, he lifted the bucket and sniffed it, happy to recognize the sweet, tangy scent of milk.
To be completely sure, he took a cup from the chest and tasted some of the liquid, confirming that he was right.
Content, he poured more milk from the buckets into his cup, then turned around and sat at the table with the cookies, when suddenly he noticed that the other three had stopped their conversation and were staring at him with their white glowing eyes in suspicion.
For anyone else, this sight might have been shocking, but Einshine was used to it.
In his world, everyone had white eyes.
He decided to ignore them again and focus on his food, which had been waiting for him for far too long now.
"Hey, Einshine," Jason suddenly began to speak just as he was about to dip his first cookie into the milk, "Can it be...that you are blind?"