Chapter 3: Confirmation Bias


Steve honestly was beginning to wish that the explosion had killed him.

The cold afternoon air greeted him as he finally was able to stretch out his body, having gotten more rest after an extra day and a half at the clinic. His labored walk to the Elder's abode served to double as a death march as he went alone, having earlier in the day being heavily insistent on making the journey by himself despite both Pickett and his grandmother's wishes. If he was going to see his future disappear before his eyes, he was certain that he wanted to see that happen alone, holding on to the last bit of dignity he was certainly going to have for a while. Not to mention, he wanted to see for himself just exactly how well he recovered from his injuries apart from what Railey had mentioned, and at the moment, he was doing surprisingly well. He didn't need to stay at the clinic anymore, but given his current luck, he figured that he'd probably be back within a day or two.

His thoughts began to shift over the many worries he had about the possibility of actually being confirmed.

What would he do first after being thrown away to the wolves? Fight monsters? Live in a cave? What was he to look for? The portal that Herobrine was talking about? Where was it? How would he be able to find it? Would he even be the first to find it?

He had no blueprint to work off of, and he was just about certain that he'd never get one.

Stepping into the town hall, he gave a quick greeting to the secretary that sat nearly bored to tears at the front desk, who merely gave him an expressionless glance, directing him to the Elder's office almost immediately. With a quiet "Thank you", he made his way into the nearby hallway as fast as he could, hoping to not disturb the man who had looked like he'd already clocked out emotionally for the rest of the day.

The office itself was on the second floor of the wooden building, only accessible by a couple of ladders that were bolted to the nearby wall. Climbing up, Steve poked his head into the quiet room, looking around for the Elder.

He didn't have to search long, as he found the other sitting at his desk quietly. The man in question was old, yet rather spry for his age. Long grey hair flowed past his waist as his beard nearly followed suit. Warm, green eyes stared down at a pamphlet he was holding in his hands, most likely made for a future town event that he would be presiding over. Though the man's senses had certainly dimmed over the years, Steve was still surprised that he hadn't been noticed yet, given the fact that the Elder caught everything else that occurred within the village no matter how small the matter was.

Knocking on the floor, Steve watched as the Elder finally turned his attention on him, placing the pamphlet down on his desk as he stood up.

"Steve! Didn't see you there, how are you today?"

Pulling himself up through the entrance, Steve smiled as he went to shake the other's hand.

"I'm doing…well, I could be better, but I'm okay at the moment."

"I heard through the grapevine that you sustained some pretty serious injuries in the mines, are you sure that you're okay?"

Rolling his shoulder to test his own limits, Steve winced a bit as he felt a sharp pain arise from the spot that he'd been previously shot in, though he forced a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm healing up quite nicely, but some bits of me are still pretty sore. I should be good in a couple of days though, I won't shirk my duties for too long, sir." Steve finished with a chuckle, rubbing his arm a bit.

"Good! Good. Now, what brings you here today, young man?"

The Elder moved to sit behind his desk once again, waiting for his answer.

Steve almost wanted to lie, but after considering the fact that he may be dragged back anyway, he took a deep breath and looked the other in the eyes.

"Railey said I needed to see you. She says that I have the potential to be one of the champions because I managed to survive my more serious injuries. I don't see how that makes me any different, but I'm here now, so..."

The Elder stared at him momentarily, eyes widening a bit at his words before they closed as a warm smile overtook his features. Pulling open a drawer, he dug around it a bit before pulling out a small, mahogany-colored box, taking out a set of keys that were hidden in his pockets before opening it. Lifting up the lid, he pulled out a shiny item that the miner didn't recognize, standing up again to walk slowly back around the desk.

"And how bad were they, truly?"

Steve got a bit more nervous.

"I-I got involved in an explosion set off by a creeper, right behind me. Apparently, I broke my neck, and nearly bled out completely, but I managed to pull through thanks to the medics..."

The Elder nodded as he approached him.

"I see, I see. You know, being recommended to be a champion is no small matter. You have to be rather capable and amazing to pull it off."

Steve nodded slowly, offering the other a small smile.

"I've...heard. What does a champion do, anyway?"

Examining him, the Elder circled around the miner as he thought to himself for a moment, humming once he was done.

"I know that since you originally came to this village, you've heard a bit of our folklore, correct?"

Steve nodded, a bit confused by the other's question.

"…Yeah? What about it?"

"Well, do you remember any of them in detail?"

Steve shook his head.

"Not really. I only know about the undead and whatever, and the creepers and overgrown spiders. But doesn't everybody?"

Stepping over to a nearby bookcase, the Elder pulled out a semi-large book from one of its shelves, opening it with one hand to a page that had clearly seen better days.

"See, a couple of our stories are based in reality, actually. Some feats achieved in them were done so eons ago by beings much stronger and more capable than us, but ever since the new age, it's become a thing of pride to go out and replicate their accomplishments. As these newer generations bring back evidence of their feats, the word gets out rather quickly, and they tend to elevate the villages they come from into fame. That's mostly what champions are sent out to do. There are only a few things that nobody has managed to replicate, however."

As the Elder read over the page, he smiled.

"We don't exactly know which ones are possible and which ones aren't, but...given the appearance of some new creatures that I'm sure that you may have heard about once or twice on the outskirts of town, we can guess which ones might have standing in our reality. There aren't too many impressive feats left that'll spark interest, but I've been keeping an eye on a couple. Though, they are rather...troubling."

Bringing fame? That's what these people died for?

"Of course, I'll have you do something in order to prove that you have the ability to go forward with those tasks in particular, but...well, I might as well recite one of these tales to you so that you have a better idea of what you can do here."

The miner shrugged, forgetting that his shoulder was still injured as he raised a hand to grasp it, nodding instead.

"Go ahead."

The Elder looked down at the page, placing the strange item upon it as well to be able to hold the book properly.

"Well, I won't recite the whole story to you, but I'll give you a little snippet.

'…And there lives a tale of way back when,

Where the souls of the forgotten walked like men

Haunting the lands apart from their own

Mindless and blind, scared and alone

Bound by hatred, led by desire.

Their only hope of freedom sitting upon a spire'"

The man walked closer to Steve, eyes kept firmly on the book.

"…'Their captor takes over the sky, the land

Claws tear at fabric, at flesh, at man

When the gateway opens, then shall it soar

Bringing destruction, famine, and war.'…"

The Elder lifted his head, staring Steve directly in the eyes.

"…'Only the blessed can end it, the fighter, the dreamer

Bearer of eyes, those of Doom's Wielder

Shining with darkness, of blindness, of sight

Only the blessed can prevent eternal night

Only the blessed can lay waste to the beast

Only the blessed can enter, lest the chaos be released

Only the blessed can head the call

Only the blessed can end it all.'…"

The Elder turned away to place the book on the desk, taking the item once again in his hands.

"…Do you understand what I'm asking of you, should you be revealed as one of the champions?"

Still confused, Steve shook his head.

"No?...Can't I just...take one of the smaller amazing feats and still accomplish the same? Isn't there anything else in that book that would have the same effect?"

"There are more pressing matters to attend to. A few of the tales in this book right here balance themselves on the line between reality and fiction, but we can't just ignore some of the monsters described here!"

"And it's my responsibility to deal with it why?"

The Elder ignored his question and reached for his arm, holding it tightly in one hand as he used the other to swiftly cut it with the item in his grasp, which Steve now realized was quite possibly the shard of whatever thing Selwyn had discovered on the temple floor, previously brought to the man for examination.

Why couldn't he catch a break with people aiming to cut him open?

With a quick shout of pain, Steve attempted to rip himself away, only to find that he couldn't escape the other's grip. Placing the shard in his robe pocket, the Elder used his now-free hand to gently grab Steve's face, staring him intensely in the eyes.

After a moment or two, the Elder broke the silence.

"Why, you are our new champion! Congratulations!"

Feeling mostly the same (except for the sting that came from his newly-acquired wound), Steve raised a brow. However, his confusion was soon replaced by a wave of both anger and panic.

"What did you d-"

"Your first task that I'm assigning in order to further confirm your status is to ease my fears about you being able to venture out into the wilderness on your own without having to worry about your injuries. Brew a couple of potions and bring them to me."

Brew a couple of potions? How?

"But I don't know how to-" Steve tried to object, but found that his words fell on deaf ears.

"-Now, I know that this is a grand responsibility, but fear not, young warrior. We'll give you the proper armour and outfit you with the finest blade possible. We'll give you strength, trust me. You're in safe hands."

The interruption only made him feel worse about the situation.

Was he already just another puppet? Was he already that much less of a person now that he had been given this strange responsibility? Though his worst suspicions had been confirmed, Steve found himself feeling nothing else but a sense of emptiness as he was rushed through the confirmation process. He could only hope that he wouldn't be ignored so much that his inevitable death would come faster than he wanted it to.

"Armour? Do I need to head over to the blacksmith and tell him what's up?" In an attempt to play along, Steve tried to push down his feelings for the time being until he could set aside time to feel sorry for himself.

The Elder nodded.

"Yes. We'll go together right away so we can get you out there as soon as possible."

The man went back to his desk and returned the shard to where it had been, coming back around to pull Steve towards the exit eagerly.


Steve found himself leaning against the lava-based forge as he watched the elder argue with the local blacksmith, Almun, as he worked away on the surface of a new blade.

"But we need to fit him up for the fight and journey ahead!"

"But he needs time to prepare. You give him the hardest possible feat to replicate, and you expect him to just go out and do it with the clothes he has right now on his back and a rusty, old pickaxe? Do you want him to live and actually save us? Or die immediately to whatever steps out of that hellscape first?"

"He's gotten plenty of training from protecting our village from the nearby mobs! And besides, I'm making him learn how to brew potions this time around, isn't that enough?!"

Almun spit out to the side, moving the blade to cool within a water basin.

"Sure. If he's staying in the plains and the taiga forests, then that's enough to protect us from all the mobs here. However, might I point out again that he's possibly going to be traveling to other biomes, and possibly the ends of the earth? Most of which have such a different mob ecosystem that our own fails in comparison of strength? Where the mobs in some places are apparently used to harsh heat, unlike the dead bodies in our neck of the woods, so they can withstand the sun if he managed to drag them back over here? Where the mobs in other areas are used to such freezing temperatures that tricking them to fall into frozen lakes won't do anything? Sir, he needs the proper equipment and the proper strategy to take on these horrifying monsters, and I'm all too willing to give the equipment, but I need to know for sure that he's ready for it. Potions won't save him if he can't manage to juggle both fighting monsters and recovering from their attacks."

"They can, and they will. Besides, we all know how well Steve can handle the mobs, don't we, Almun?" The man cast Steve a smug grin.

"And we all know how you said that about the last couple of champions that we had, who all ended up dead with clear evidence of monsters being at fault, don't we, sir?" The last bit was spoken with clear disgust and anger in Almun's tone as he gave a couple of harder swings of his hammer in order to punctuate his sentence.

The elder sighed in annoyance and defeat as his expression dropped along with his head, throwing a hand up as he turned his back towards the other.

"If he ends up dying, it's all your fault, Al. I'll search for another smithy who'll be readily willing to give the supplies."

Almun rolled his eyes.

"Have fun with that. Goodbye Wade."

Steve sighed as the other man left, leaving him alone with the disgruntled smithy who simply continued to do his work, anger still radiating off of his form.

Almun was a tough but determined older man who worked diligently every day, even though most of his creations were sent out from the village instead of being used within it, hardly being seen by anybody around him. His long, silver-dusted black hair was tied up in an efficient bun, though various strands were slipping away from the leather band that had kept them down in the first place. His grey work shirt was dusted with coats of both coal and ash, and his work apron, made from leather as well, was no different.

Despite the fact that Steve barely spent time with him during the day, the two of them were close work companions and were even closer friends. Whatever Steve found in the mines was given as soon as possible to the blacksmith to smelt down and utilize, and whatever Almun smelted for the miner, he gave back for the other to deliver. More often than not, however, Steve found and gave Almun extra ores to use for his projects even if he didn't ask for any, and the blacksmith, in return, gave him free repairs and new tools despite not necessarily needing them. Apart from physical transactions, Steve often came to the man at night to simply talk; whether it be surface-level topics or deeper issues, the two often conversed with each other until Almun personally sent him away to fix his sleep schedule into something that could be considered reasonable. Almun always looked out for him, and Steve wished to be able to do the same for the other, too.

Irritation quickly turning into a more friendly tone, Almun gave Steve a teasing side-glance.

"Can't really believe it, Steve. One minute, they're giving you deadlines and harassing you to do the work for them to gather ores and save them from mobs, and now they're giving you a deadline and harassing you to save this poor excuse for a decent village's reputation. And this is because they finally paid attention to you once you were on the brink of death, huh?" Almun chuckled to himself, hammering away once again on his new creation: an iron sword.

"Pretty much. Wish I'd just been more careful in that cave; that way, we'd just be carrying out their errands like always and wouldn't have to deal with this mess. I also wish I'd read those fairytales more often…I have no idea what they want me to do whatsoever. The Elder mentioned it, but I wasn't really paying much attention." Steve crossed his arms, rolling his eyes as the smithy let out a hearty chuckle.

"Want me to give you a quick run-down?"

"Please."

Almun sighed, placing his tools down for a moment and crossing his arms in order to face him directly.

"Alright, Steve. So basically, after you learn how to brew, which, I'm guessing won't help you much if you aren't going to be bringing a brewing stand with you on your journey, you're supposed to risk your skin for the village fighting terrible beasts in situations that'll culminate into you facing something that's most likely gonna be a dragon. I mean, Wade might say that you could do whatever, but I know that he'll be leaning towards giving you that one, since that's the big one that most of the other villages are appointing champions for, anyways."

The miner's heart sunk deep within his chest as he stared blankly at the blacksmith. The words slowly processed themselves within his head, and as quickly as the fear settled in, he found himself panicking at the idea of the quest before him.

"A dragon?! I have to fight a dragon?!" Steve jerked forward from the wall in shock, his eyes widening in fear and pure disbelief as his heart sank to the pit of his stomach.

He'd only heard about dragons in children's tales and whatnot, but the possibility of the mythical creatures being real used to give him serious nightmares, and were currently threatening to give him even more now. Sure, had he any more willpower to ignore the stories and convince himself that they were entirely fictional, he would've, but given the fact that just the other day, one of those said mythical legends came to his front doorstep and nearly killed him, he wasn't about to dismiss any other creatures' existences in fear that he'd end up finding them staring him right in the face.

Almun nodded his head, a sympathetic look flashing across his eyes.

"Yep. Or, y'know, you could also take out something called the Wither, but rumor has it that that's already been done, since like years ago. Like, recent years. Now it's just an arms race between villages to push forth premature "heroes" as cannon fodder against the dragon. All for a bit of that sweet, sweet reputation. Basically, they're helping the dragon sustain its foreign diet of human flesh for who knows how long, possibly."

Steve's gaze sunk to the ground, prompting a sympathetic pat on the back from his friend in response.

"Really? That's what's expected of me now? Me?…Against a dragon?…"

Almun nodded again.

"Yup. Listen, the best I can make for you at the moment with the supplies you've mined for me is only iron armour, which, as you probably could've guessed, would be absolutely obliterated in seconds against that beast compared to the durability of diamond. I tried to buy you time against his bullshit of a prophecy's deadline, but I can't tell if he's serious about the "other smithy" stuff. If that's the case, we need to train you up or get you out as soon as possible."

"…And my other options?"

Almun sighed.

"These idiots send you directly to your death in their haste to gain fame. Or you find some other, more lackluster feat that'll eventually be overshadowed by the dragon's death anyway. People tend to notice a giant, dead magical reptile than they do, I don't know, a farmer, or something. I thought we already went through this, Steve."

The blacksmith returned to his work while Steve contemplated with himself. While he no longer suffered as much from the effects of the explosion he had been made a victim of thanks to various potions, he imagined the force of a blast from a dragon of all things, ripping through his clothes, his flesh, and even through his bones without any second thought, giving him no chance to recover or to even be rescued. He shuddered to think of its size or its roaring voice compared to the simple dot that could be him in comparison.

Noticing his growing distressed expression, Almun chuckled to himself.

"Steve. I won't let them do that to you without putting up a fight against it. They don't realize that nobody's going to ever go up against the dragon in the time that it'll take to go and mine diamonds, make armour, and suit up to fight it in the first place. They may rush us, but we really have all of the time in the world, if you think about it."

Steve looked back at him quizzingly.

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

Almun shrugged.

"It's been years since those shadowy creatures from the folklore first started appearing across the world and people realized that the tale actually had some standing…Though, rumour has it that there are two things halting the entire process of fighting that dragon. Hell, I don't think any of these so-called "heroes" have ever even seen the dragon-"

"I thought you said the dragon ate them all?…"

"That was both a joke and an overstatement. One, because these fools all think the way to even get to wherever the damn thing lives is just a skip and a hop away. They haven't been able to set up any system that can help locate it. There might be a chance that the 'gateway' the story talks about is another portal to a different dimension, but nobody even knows if it's within a structure of any kind, or if there's actually a portal at all. They don't know what it looks like by itself, and they surely don't know what it takes to get there without being killed on the way if the rumours are to be taken seriously."

Steve blinked, surprised that Almun was aware of the existence of a portal.

"So…they also expect me to go and find where it lives?…Nobody even knows where it is?"

"That's what they believe, yeah. Another rumour's going around that there's some kind of force keeping these people away from even stepping foot near the portal, let alone in it. Some say you have to go through a rite of passage, but then again, nobody's ever reported of their heroes surviving it. Well, that's a lie…some people do come back after attempting to find the portal. Albeit severely traumatized, injured, and unable to speak, only to die a day or so later due to everything. Others are just never seen again."

"So…even if I find this portal, I'll die trying to get in it?…"

"Exactly. These fools keep on doing the same thing again and again, sending young, capable souls freely to die at the hands of whatever monster they're severely underprepared for. It's sickening. It's…it's sad, to say the very least."

Almun paused, taking a deep breath as he looked away from Steve with a deep sadness in his eyes. After a moment of deep thought, he looked back at him with a smile.

"But hey. Maybe you'll be the one to break that cycle and end this once and for all. Or, maybe not. Who knows? All I know is that if you wanna get an edge on not dying so fast, I'd recommend gettin' to findin' those diamonds for me and learning how to brew, champ."

Steve gave him a mock salute, letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Can do, sir. Will bring 'em pronto."

Almun sheathed his newly-crafted sword, handing it over to Steve, who stared at him in disbelief.

"What, you think I was living under a rock? As soon as I heard that woman and your other friend screeching down at the quick clinic the other day, I knew better than to leave my ears open to the Elder without something to keep me distracted from strangling him instead of sending someone else to do his bidding. So, I decided to make a sword, but that may have been a mistake given who's now gonna own it. I know you still have that old, dulled stone sword that you love sooo much, but if you'd talk to me personally, I'd say that iron suits you so much better, Steve. Now, if it won't kill you to finally retire that old dog-"

"Thanks, Al." He carefully, but eagerly took the sword within his hands, attaching the sheath itself to his belt with haste. His eyes lit up as he shook his hips a little, twisting his body around to test the weight of his new weapon against his form.

"How did you get this to fit so well?! The blade itself isn't all that heavy, and the sheath is lightweight and doesn't slide like my old one!"

"Well Steve, the difference between my handiwork and yours is that I had years and a couple of wars under my belt to perfect my skill as a blacksmith, and you had about 30 minutes to decide whether or not you wanted to die or actually be able to properly defend yourself."

"…You didn't have to be so rude about it."

"Hah, I just like joking with ya, Steve! Can't mess with my brother, so you'll have to do! Well, that is until the rest of this village sends you off on your grand suicide mission, of course."

Steve glared at him.

"…You make me feel so calm about this, you know that, Almun?"

Almun let out a hearty laugh.

"Well, y'know, you could always choose another feat to accomplish instead of the big one. It's you who's going to do all the dirty work, anyways, so you should have a say in it, at least."

"Sure. That's why you gave me an iron sword, of all things. To take care of something less dangerous."

Almun went to pat him again on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get goin' before good ol' Wade comes back to give me a formal letter of termination!"

With a playful shove, Steve left the deck of the blacksmith to head on over to the village main gate, heading back to his house with a nervous smile on his face.

While walking on the pathway that led back to his house, Steve nearly found himself breaking down in the middle of the forest.

So much to do for a simple miner.

Was there really nothing else that he could do for his situation? The Elder had completely ignored his concerns, and was more than happy to get rid of him, apparently, so did he really have no say in the matter? Would Almun be able to make him suitable armour in time before he was to be sent off? How was he supposed to even work towards being anything that even resembled a champion?

His head continued to be swarmed by his troubling thoughts as he glanced back at the village, eyes wavering slightly before he continued his journey back home. Upon reaching the lake, he looked over at the surface of the water momentarily, catching his rippling reflection briefly as he thought quietly to himself.

He had to do a double-take.

Staring intensely at his image in the water, he finally realized how easy it was for the Elder to assume that he was different enough to be a champion.

His eyes were not the deep violet that he was accustomed to. They were a vibrant, lively, shining pinkish-purple.


Steve had spent most of his time back at home going over the many different scenarios in which he could meet his death once he left his village. Ultimately, he had broken his own spirit enough to the point to where his brain demanded a break and he soon found himself resting on his knees in front of his fireplace, the room he was in being illuminated by the light of the setting sun outside.

He stared at the sword on its mantle, its cracked handle taunting him; its dulled surface beckoning him to tend to it.

He continued to stare at the sword for an unusually dense amount of time, feeling as if he betrayed the item with his new gift, although it wasn't his intention to do so.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry…I just…I need…it was a gift, okay? I never wanted to switch you out, but…the villagers, they…they need me to do something, and I didn't want to break you while doing it. You're my most prized possession-"

"-Y'know, I knew this whole champion thing was going to be gettin' to your head, but this is ridiculous Ste-"

Steve shrieked and turned around towards the voice, only to groan in annoyance when he saw that it belonged to none other than Pickett, who stood at the opened front door.

"What's with it with people barging into my house?! Knock Pickett, please knock at least!"

"Wait, woah! What's with your eyes?!"

Steve narrowed his gaze and pointed at the other sternly.

"Pickett, don't change the subject. When I go to your place, I knock. You should too."

Pickett laughed, brushing off his amazement a bit.

"I'm sorry, you just left your door open, and I was coming on by to drop something off before the sun went completely down, but I couldn't help but walk into your impromptu heart-to-heart with that old sword of yours! Stone, is it?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. What were you coming to give to me? Make it quick."

"Geez, I'm sorry dude, okay? Here. I asked my nan about the champion's duties or whatever, and she mentioned something about different opportunities that you could take advantage of. I found this book at the library, and I thought about giving it to you so that you'll have a better idea of what you could do, actually. Y'know, besides whatever the Elder said."

The man handed him a dense, heavy book that nearly fell from his grasp, only to be saved by the nearby table that stood within his kitchen. Steve flipped open to a page covered in a dense, ancient language that was lost to his gaze, sending his thoughts into confusion.

"Pickett? Did you ever look to see if this book's even able to tell me anything? I can't read this."

Pickett scratched his head.

"I dunno. I just thought that since it had pictures of some weird junk, I thought that it may help you out."

Steve closed the book, letting a deep breath escape him.

"Thanks anyway, Pickett. I'll…I'll take a shot at deciphering it someday. Just…just not now."

The other nodded.

"Alright. I can understand that. Get some rest, will ya Steve? If you keep on getting hurt at that cave, I'll have to cave in the passageway myself to keep you from going back there! You better take some time to put your thoughts to rest, and then push them back together again to help with pushing you towards whatever you're gonna do!"

Steve hummed in response, staring at the surface of the book.

"…I'll do that. See ya, Pickett."

The man turned around silently with hesitance, making his way over to the door. He turned one last time to look at Steve with his slumped shoulders, stressed demeanor, and tired eyes.

"…See ya, Stevie."

With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

With that, Steve was alone once again.

"…I can't believe this…"

Steve went to his bedroom and once again fell onto the bed, closing his eyes as he gathered together his thoughts. He didn't care if it was too early to sleep; he needed something to take him away from his swirling emotions as soon as possible.

'Alright. Tomorrow, I'll head to the caves to find diamonds. Then, if I have time, I'll head to the library in order to find out whatever language this is, and hopefully find a guide in translating it. I…I need to get ready. If this is gonna be my life now, then I need to adapt pretty fast.'

He slowly felt himself dozing off.

'If I end up going after that dragon after all, I gotta…I gotta prepare for the trials. The rite of passage…What's that, anyways?…'

Steve breathed out, burying his face into his pillow.

'…Hopefully, it has nothing to do with Herobrine. I've had enough of him playing out with me like some sort of toy.'

He rolled over, spotting the entrance to his room finally void of unwanted visitors.

'…But, then again…I'm curious about him.'


*Knock*

*Knock knock*

He was roused from his sleep as a faint strand of sunlight pierced his vision and the sound of knuckles upon his front door reached his ears. He sat up in his bed, yawning as he realized that it was finally daylight.

*Knock*

He stood up and made his way into his hall, unable to spot whoever decided to wake him up abruptly from the window that was placed in front of his bedroom. He stared at his old sword that was displayed on the fireplace next to the window, mulling over the words of the strange Herobrine that had been spoken to him days prior.

'…Does a sword that dull really make me that big of a target?…'

*Knock*

Another one. He forgot what he had set out to do. Grabbing the newly-formed blade that lay sheathed against his dining chair out of caution, he went to open the front door, knocking back once to solicit another response.

"Who's there?"

"…"

He heard no answer.

Suspicion arose over his other thoughts.

'Funny. So I know it's not Pickett, that's for sure.'

He stepped away from the door cautiously, only to be met with another rhythmic knock.

"…Yes?…"

He opened the door only a bit to peak out, locking gazes with the strange, orange-haired boy from the other night.

Steve immediately shut the door.

"Aw, c'mon! You had one bad experience and now you don't wanna talk anymore?!" The muffled voice reached his ears, but he felt as if the boy didn't deserve to have his audience.

Steve stepped away from the door, pinning his back against his fridge as his heart beat at a million miles a minute. Another knock sounded throughout his house, but he couldn't have been bothered to move from his spot.

"What was your name? Steve? C'mon, I won't hurt you again, I just wanna talk about something! I'm curious, and master won't answer my questions so I'm here to investigate by myself! No one else! You're safe in my hands! Plus, if you die, master will kill me, so you're perfectly safe! I promise you won't get hurt this time, okay?"

Steve stood silent, electing not to even breathe for his own safety.

He heard a quiet sigh emanate from the other side of the door.

"…Lord Herobrine would've already killed you by now if he really wanted you dead. He doesn't like to play cat and mouse for so long, and he's already expressed his hatred for you humans. You're safe. I'm not allowed to kill you anyway, he made a point to make sure that none of us even try for the time being." The other's tone was suddenly serious as his voice lowered to emphasize his point.

Steve tilted his head in confusion, relaxing his bones as he made his way to the door. He leaned against it, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight.

"I'm…I'm not going to open the door, but…I'll answer your questions like this. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it!"

"Fine enough."

Following the arrangement, he felt a slight push arise from the door against his back, slightly confusing him for a moment before he'd realized that the other might've been mirroring his actions from the other side.

Steve rummaged around his brain for a moment, but was left with no result as he tried to remember the other's name.

Simply enough, he decided to ask.

"…What's your name, again?"

"Constiere! Weird, I know, but don't blame me!"

"…Wasn't going to."

Silence followed his response for a moment, giving him slight anxiety as he briefly braced for something to break it.

He heard a clap from behind the door.

"Alright, enough with the introductions, first question! What happened to your eyes?"

Steve raised a brow at the peculiar question.

"Uhh...your guess is as good as mine…"

"…What? You don't know?! Last time I saw you, your eyes were perfectly fine! A bit different from the other people around here, yeah, but...normal!"

"…I haven't really done anything to make them any more special, but...I got care after you both attacked me, so maybe whatever they gave me kicked in, I think?…"

The boy was silent for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"…Master said something about humans having more physical effects after drinking potions and whatever, but I thought that was just the case for drinking potions made from Nether Wart. I have to pay more attention to that, next time he brings it up."

"Neth...what? I don't think we have...whatever the heck that is in our village, but-"

"Then there has to be another way you got them. What else did you do between the last time we talked and now?"

Of course. Steve didn't exactly want to let the stranger or his "master" know about his so-called destiny in the making, but the only time he ever recalled seeing a difference in his eye color was after when the elder had "evaluated" him for the possibility of being the champion. Had it been the light or his imagination he wasn't sure, but what he saw was a certain sparkle that hadn't been there before; one that had only been confirmed to exist by the other person who was standing outside his door.

"...Nothing. I recovered at our village clinics, and I managed to get well enough to leave. I think the potions are the only reason for that, though, I was given a lot of them, I believe. I just slept and drank potions, that's all." He lied through his teeth.

"Oh. Well, that's weird. Gotta say, you aren't the first person that we've seen with that eye color, though."

Steve was shocked.

"What?"

"Master encountered a few weirdos who wanted to challenge him, and like, a couple of them had the same exact eye color that you have right now. He suspected that it was a genetic thing, and I did too, until you opened the door and proved me wrong here. Maybe you were given a strength potion or something? But...you said that your village doesn't have access to Nether Warts, right?"

"I...I don't brew stuff, so I don't know what they use, but I've certainly never heard of that before."

"So maybe they do use 'em! Man, and here I thought we had more of a crisis on our hands. But still, it doesn't make sense why those people would try and go fight him. I mean...last time I checked, most people were willing to completely forget about him until he personally showed up to their villages and whatever. Now, more and more of those weirdos are trying to find him and...other stuff. He was talking to Malgun about it..."

Several questions popped up in his mind, but Steve decided to go slow for the time being.

"…Who's Malgun?…"

Laughter erupted from the other side of the door, causing him to flinch at the abruptness of the mood change.

"Him?! He's the half-dead leader of the skeleton army! Master put him in charge of making the human lifestyle a place of constant fear from the shadows! He's a legend amongst mobs and men! The only creatures that are more efficient than his army are the endermen, and even then, they don't get as much done, in my opinion."

Steve hummed to himself, silently thankful that he'd never heard of such a force to be reckoned with, silently curious about the other set of creatures that had been mentioned.

"Alright. What's an…uh…endermen, or enderman?"

"Them? They're one of master's strongest allies or whatever. Tall, scary, screechy. The closest person related to him is an enderman after all. I don't really know much else about them, except that they have really pretty eyes. Oh, and that they hate water."

Steve noted that information as he realized that the other may have described the tall, shadowy creature that had attacked him during his first encounter with Herobrine.

"…Any other questions, then?"

"Hmm…just one more! Alright. Were you really a Crystalian?"

"Yeah. I remember living there like it was yesterday. Though it wasn't a great place for my profession, so I'm glad I left, actually."

"Your profession?…"

"I mine ores for a living."

"Ohhh! So that's why master had me set myself off in the cave; so that those nasty villagers would find you in the most reasonable place you'd be beside your house! So since you're not from here, you came to mine?"

Set himself off?…

The words rolled around in Steve's head a bit before he realized that he was leaving the other in awkward silence.

"I…guess? The old place back home that handles the mining work was poorly treated, and the mines themselves were decrepit while the elevator to even get to them was completely broken and unused. I didn't want to live like that, so I moved here, simple enough. Not as big, but it's definitely a better place to work in."

"Fun! I guess that answers all my questions for now. Oh, except for one bonus question- last one for sure, really!"

Steve sighed.

"Knock yourself out there, bud."

The boy giggled.

"Heheheh! Alright! So…are you ready to work with us?"

"…Huh?…"

"Pfft what, you thought that Lord Herobrine would just bug you like that and just let you go? You're now part of an ongoing investigation! If master just allowed you to go about your daily life, then we wouldn't be able to figure out why so many people are trying to go all out on challenging him! He'll be back soon enough to investigate himself, but…hopefully, you'll be ready for that. In the meantime, I'll be on my way until we meet again in a few. Maybe this time master won't be so harsh on you, but who knows? Anyways, see you soon!"

A moment of silence passed before the sound of leaving footsteps reached his ears, and for the first time in a while, Steve let out a breath he was unaware he was holding.

'Well, curiosity killed the cat, but so far, it's taking its time to kill me, so I'm at least glad for that.'

Steve went back into his room, flopping onto his bed with no ceremony. Feeling his eyes beginning to droop, he slowly closed himself off to the world around him, embracing the sweet silence that was gifted to him so lovingly on a whim. If he were to sleep into the late afternoon, so be it.

...

...

...

"…I know Constiere was just here, but I couldn't help myself. I had to intrude and ask why you were so rude as to not let him in."

Steve shrieked at the sudden new entity in his room, only becoming more panicked once he realized that it was indeed Herobrine who had broken in again. The other stood at the entrance of his room, arms laid at his sides as he stared at him with eyes that held a lesser intensity of light than they had previously, much to the miner's surprise.

"Can you all just...stay out?! Please?!"

"You haven't answered my question."

"You haven't left me alone whenever I get a minute to relax! Nobody in my village has!"

Herobrine gave him a bored expression as he calmed down, staring back with a certain degree of hatred that he was sure he could afford.

Steve glared at him.

"…When someone has previously nearly blown you to bits, you think you'd have some sense of self-preservation, wouldn't you say?" he asked, pointing a finger at the other.

Herobrine shrugged.

"Fair point. But may I ask you this?"

He leaned in towards him, staring deep into his soul.

"Why would you lie?"

Steve felt a chill go up his spine.

"Lie? About what?…"

"About your eyes. You say you have no idea about how they've changed, but I believe you lied to my servant to preserve something. To preserve yourself, maybe? Others?-"

"I don't know why they became this way! I just know that my eyes were always violet, and now they're kinda pink in some places."

"You were born with violet eyes, and they just randomly became like that?"

"As far as I'm aware, yeah."

Herobrine narrowed his eyes at him.

"And such a condition is common? Or is it rare?"

Steve blinked.

"I…I've never met anybody else with violet eyes, so…so it's not common?…Then again, I've only lived here for the majority of my life, so it's not like I have any other frame of reference, here."

"And so, when did you figure out that they've become more intense in color?"

"I told your servant there, I noticed it after I got healed from your little ambush, okay?! I didn't-"

Herobrine raised a hand, silencing his hysterics.

"You don't need to raise your voice. We're on common ground, as far as I'm willing to admit."

Relaxing his shoulders, the miner paused, tilting his head a bit in partial confusion.

"Common?"

Herobrine walked closer to him, causing Steve to lean back as a subconscious response. His gaze unwavering and expression as serious as ever, he continued to hold Steve's attention firmly.

"You find yourself experiencing changes after our first and most recent encounters. I might have to say that I have been seeing the same."

Now Steve was entirely confused. Him? And this anomaly? On common grounds?

"Seeing…what?"

Without a word, Herobrine opened the palm of his hand, doing nothing as Steve watched with some sort of anticipation. Suddenly, a small flame appeared; barely living, but there all the less.

'…Fantastic. So he can burn my house down whenever he wants. I really needed to know that.' Steve thought to himself, eyes fixated on the little spark as if it would suddenly explode and set everything aflame.

"I usually can produce flames the size of bonfires under normal conditions, but ever since this whole debacle with you humans started, I've been growing weaker, somewhat. Not in all areas, mind you, but in magic particularly." He closed his palm, extinguishing the flame.

"Not only that but…I've grown more…emotional, so to speak. I've been rather diligent in suppressing your human influences, but now of all times, I find myself falling victim to more and more nonsense. For example, when I first saw you, I felt some sort of…connection? It was like I've met you somewhere before, but I've never seen you, let alone have I ever acknowledged your existence before then. It's all so...curious. I know we're identical, and I hate to admit it, but that's not the reason why I feel this way. I can't just let you go, now, as you may have guessed." Herobrine shrugged, pacing a bit around the room as he held Steve's attention.

"So…what you're saying is that you're only keeping me around because you think I can lead to something?" The miner pointed to himself, slowly pushing off of the bed.

"Mostly, but I believe that we both can benefit from this accommodation. I have something to ask of you, actually. Something that could make this all the more…bearable for someone like you."

"And that is?…"

Herobrine sighed, stopping his other movements as he extended his arm to the other without looking him in the eyes. From Steve's perspective, he might've detected a hint of…embarrassment?

"Given that this whole fiasco undoubtedly relates to you, I propose that I offer you a deal. Surely, I'm certain that you've heard from Constiere that people are attempting to track me down and challenge me, correct?"

"...Yeah?"

"I believe there's more to it. After some choice encounters, I've become aware of the fact that some of these individuals were initially aiming to fight against one of my...well, they wished to gain glory through combat. Combat against the ender beasts, so to say. However, I can tell that that's not all they intend to do. Fighting against strong opponents and winning would satisfy anybody with half a sense of honor and pride, but it seems like they're aiming for something beyond a simple victory or two. If they went to fight the endermen, and just the endermen, I'd pay no mind to their antics, but trying to find me? Me? When I have no relation to their quest? It's rather suspicious."

Herobrine focused his eyes on him.

"You share their condition as a human. I assume that given the fact that I'm seeing this phenomenon grow, it'll only get worse. You interest me, and I intend to figure out what's going on with them and you. Here's my offer. You help me figure out what these fools' intentions are for journeying to the End Realm apart from challenging the beasts within it, and I spare your life and enhance it, so to speak. Something big for something even bigger. Calm my concerns, and I'll calm yours."

Steve raised a brow, staring at the hand with suspicion in his eyes, but relief in his heart.

"There's…not a catch?…" He asked quietly looking back up at the other in order to attempt to find any evidence of the other lying to him.

Herobrine sighed.

"…No. No catch. There would be nothing for either of us to gain anyways, and a mere human like yourself can't offer me anything besides matters relating to this, of course."

Steve paused.

"…You won't blow me up again? I kinda need all my bones to be in place. And my organs. I need my organs."

The otherworldly being groaned.

"…Fine. I won't pull another stunt like that. In the near future."

"I'm not just talking about soon. I need to know that I'll be safe-"

"Either take the offer or leave it where it stands. I won't be bargaining with such a lowly creature as you, you…filthy mortal."

At any other point in time, Steve would've likely refused an offer from this stranger had he no incentive. However, he began to consider the possibilities of what a deal with Herobrine could do for him. He had no leads, no instructions, and no possible idea on how he was to slay a dragon, let alone find it. The Elder has never seen it, nobody else that was currently alive in his village had any idea about the dragon, and there was no other way for him to gain any insight on the outside world apart from Selwyn, who had no business with the legend anyways, and was unaware of the situation beyond knowing about the "champions." If he partnered up with the man in front of him, he might as well sign his waiver right there and then, but wasn't he going to be doing that regardless given what he had to do alone anyway?

Besides, it appeared as if Herobrine already had a head start on figuring out the smaller details of the "champion's journey" given that, according to both his and Constiere's words, he was being targeted by other champions himself. He could use that to his advantage, or he could just accept his death now. As a bonus, it seemed like the other was willing to give him something in return, which could be the help that he needed in the first place, for all he cared.

He could take the risk. It wasn't like he'd ever get this opportunity again.

'…Might as well go out with a bang.' the miner thought to himself.

Hesitantly, but with a small smile, Steve reached out and shook Herobrine's hand firmly, sealing the deal as he felt the residual heat from the flame the strange man had conjured against his own chilled flesh.

"I'll take it. I'll also take the suggestion for a bath, as well. Can't believe that someone so filthy as me can even get this opportunity." Steve said, letting out a small chuckle.

Quite roughly, the being ripped his hand away, turning fully from the other in order to cross his hands behind his back. Steve suspected it was in order to hide his face.

"There. We have an agreement. I'll introduce you to my associates in the coming few days in order to discuss our plans of action, but other than that, I…suppose I can offer something else for you right now in order to prepare yourself."

In an instant, Steve found himself at the end of a sharp blood-stained blade pointed directly at his throat. He hadn't even seen the other reach for it.

"Not again." Was all he could let out.

Herobrine shook his head.

"No, no. I don't plan on harming you again, at the moment. Instead, I intend to offer you proper training."

The words struck him like a bolt of lightning, his eyes widening as he looked back to the other for confirmation.

"What." Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Normally, I don't do such foolish pleasantries such as this, but given my normal way of doing things, I predict that we'll have to fight other purple-eyed wishfuls who are prepped for the worst, but not for the inevitable. They'll possibly see you with me, and thus, go after us both given the chance."

Herobrine relaxed his arm and pulled back the blade a bit, allowing Steve more room to move.

"I've seen you briefly fight under pressure. Your form is poor. You're ill-fitted to challenge even a mere butterfly."

Steve found himself getting offended by the other's critique.

"I've killed tons of mobs and haven't gotten that badly hurt-"

"I'll advise that you shouldn't brag about killing my forces so eagerly." Herobrine's expression turned dark as he extended his arm once again and pressed the blade further into Steve's skin, threatening to draw blood.

Steve didn't dare to move.

"-anyways, I…I've been trained already. Besides, I don't want to…to kill…" His voice trailed off at the end, noticing that the other's gaze hadn't softened in the slightest.

"You'll have to. Under the terms of our agreement, we'll search for the cause of this uproar, and, if anybody gets in our way, we'll have to eliminate them given the type of threat that they pose."

Steve stared at the other, backing away only slightly.

"…I…I still don't wanna murder people, if that makes sense. I…want to learn from you, though. You seem battle-hardened, strong. I…I want to learn more about you."

"That won't be necessary. We won't be working together for long, so once we're done with this fiasco, there will be no need for another meeting beyond the day we finish."

Steve frowned at the other's immediate refusal, but nevertheless, he shrugged and moved on.

"Fine. I'll take the training and deader-than-dead conversations. Fair enough terms from the man who nearly murdered me."

Herobrine briskly faced away from the other, his shoulders rigid with some sort of emotion that Steve could not read.

"We'll meet tomorrow. Then, you will be briefed on our dilemma here. From now until the day we cut ties, you will not speak a word of our presence in the area to anybody. Those who hear of us will be punished, and those who speak further about our existence will die." The other's words were firm.

Steve nodded, his brain now screaming at him for agreeing with what he'd just signed on to.

Herobrine walked out of the miner's house, leaving the other in silence as the door closed quickly behind him. Steve couldn't help but let out another breath he hadn't known that he was holding, leaning back against the wall for support as the weight of what he had to do all came crashing down on him at once.

He needed to fight a dragon.

He needed to be a hero.

He needed to work together with the legendary Herobrine.

He needed to train together with the legendary Herobrine.

He needed to kill others or be slain himself.

He was stuck in a hole he dug himself into, and he refused to let go of the dang shovel.

The day might've been young, but Steve felt as if he'd aged a hundred years all at once.


Imagine trying to pass up the opportunity to fight a dragon, couldn't be me, lmao

Apparently, Herobrine loves to break the rules but doesn't mind adhering to the ones that he creates himself. It's just that longing for total control thing he has going on, lol.

More Fun Facts!:

1.) The selection process for finding heroes and champions varies WILDLY for each village, but a pretty...out-there method is the one that the Elder uses here. The most popular method is his back-up plan, which is basically giving someone a lesser achievement to complete, then giving them something larger and more notable once they've proven their worth. It's kind of a way to get the less-useful villagers to do something meaningful.

2.) Herobrine's existence is heavily debated in the realm of Minecraftia, but that doesn't make tracking him down and attempting to win a fight against him anything but a popular thing for the boldest of champions to do, lol. Doesn't go well for them in the long run, but it sure would be one hell of an achievement to get, lol

3.) Constiere is a bit of a prick :)

Also, happy New Year, y'all! Here's to hoping for a better year than the last one, I guess. I'll be working more on this fic for y'all, of course, but my New Year's resolution is to improve my fic-writing skills in the next year as well!

Anyway, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts or criticisms!