Chapter 24: Sudden Interruption
Maybe it was the whole "being vaguely told about a very personal set of events that had to do with the situation at hand" thing, but Steve was beginning to feel rather...curious about things.
He was beginning to debate himself on whether or not he should've asked to borrow the book with Herobrine's name on it, but given that there was a good chance that it might get harmed in some way during their journey, he was leaning more toward being appreciative of the fact that that he'd initially gone against that idea. Though he'd gotten a good enough glance at it, he wished that he'd gotten even more time to examine the book in its current state so that he'd have even more material to work off of in his personal quest to befriend the demigod in question. Sure, he was going to wait for Herobrine to talk with him about the circumstances of his life on his own time, and sure, he was going to give the other the privacy that he needed in the meantime, but it was killing him inside to remember the fact that he had the opportunity to learn about him, but let it easily slip through his fingers. Finding the thought troubling enough, he let out a small sigh as he allowed his feet to kick around the snow beneath him.
Walking down the streets of Brickston as he took one last solid look at the place for the time being, he allowed his gaze to wander from building to building, watching quietly as the snow fell gently around him. Holding out a palm, he allowed some of the snow to gather upon his exposed hand as he took a closer look at the various different snowflakes that had landed gently. His skin was lightly dusted with red as his fingers felt somewhat numb, though they thankfully weren't as numb as they had been after he'd exposed himself to that strange vine oil. Watching the bits of snow melt away due to the heat of his skin, Steve then directed his attention back up to the sky up above, tracing the dense patterns of storm clouds in an attempt to make a guess on when they'd finally go away, or at the very least lighten up.
He was making his way back to the inn to check out of the rooms before he forgot, seeing as his mind was already too occupied with other things to coherently keep himself on track. Though the streets were empty, he found himself wishing to see at least a couple of people walking around, doing whatever. Even though he himself didn't really live inside of a village despite several people insisting otherwise, it still somewhat unnerved him to be the only person walking about, streets completely empty despite them being lit up enough to walk comfortably without the fear of mobs, as well as a protective wall being present around them.
Perhaps the street was empty because Claymore had specifically instructed the students to stay clear of the library. Maybe he hadn't given a specific time frame for when he'd be busy, so they all decided to just leave the library alone for the entire night. Whatever the case was, the completely empty streets, lacking both humans and golems, caused a general feeling of dread to overtake him. Being alone like this during the night made it seem like he was a creature of the night, stalking the pathways to search for his next victim. The thought brought a chuckle to his lips as he approached the inn. Hoping that the innkeeper was still awake, he stepped inside, happy to find that she was.
"Oh! It's you again!" She happily greeted him with a wave, which he returned eagerly.
"I'm just coming to get some things and return the keys before me and my friend leave. We're about to start traveling again." He explained, nodding over to the stairway.
With a worried expression, the woman looked over to the stairway entrance as well.
"But...it's night…"
Steve shrugged.
"It'll be morning before we know it, and me and my friend want to get to where we're heading soon. A little night traveling won't be too bad I think. The mobs are kinda leaving this place alone, for the most part-"
"-It's not just the mobs you need to think about. Folks all around have been...well, seeing things, I believe. Strange things, at that." She interrupted him, bringing her voice down a bit.
Steve looked at her with a curious expression.
"...Like?..."
She looked around briefly before lowering her voice even further.
"I'm not sure. Some people say they hear strange cries at night, almost like shrieking. Some even say when they look up, they see something flying around in the sky. I'd be careful on the way out, if I were you. Though, it's up to you to believe that or not, a lot of folks don't get enough sleep here, so it might just be our collective imaginations."
Taking note of the information, Steve nodded hesitantly.
"I'll...keep that in mind and hope I don't end up seeing the same, thank you."
Moving over to the stairway, Steve found himself overtaken by the thought of the mysterious creatures as he walked up to the second floor. If they were real, what could he expect to look for? Would he see them first, or hear them first? Would it be practical to challenge them should they appear, or would it be better to let Herobrine take care of the issue?
Letting out a sigh as he approached his rented room, Steve slowly opened the door, looking around briefly to double-check the room before stepping in. Finding an extra pillow on the floor as he remembered that it had been thrown at him, Steve picked it up, gave another glance around to see that he wasn't missing anything in particular, and went over to the room Constiere had stayed in, leaving the pillow there as he looked over that room as well. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he left, traveling back down the stairs in order to give the innkeeper a proper goodbye and to return the room keys.
Once back outside, Steve found his attention being drawn toward the library, though he had no intention of going inside it. As he went down the street, he found himself being somewhat wary, even though there wasn't really anybody to be wary of. It may have just been paranoia or something like that, but a general sense of dread began to rise within him. It wasn't anything as strong as what Herobrine could cause, but it was present, nonetheless.
Was he afraid to leave the city and find himself on the pathway to the rest of his adventure? Was he worried about the various different people he'd be forced to encounter as they went along their way, searching for answers? Was he afraid of actually finding those answers? Was he afraid of potentially dying for them? Was it just that he'd been more disturbed about the mention of the strange flying creatures than he had previously thought he was?
Letting out another breath, Steve allowed his feet to drag as he made his way back toward the exit, giving a few quiet goodbyes to the city as he went along. Thankfully no one was there to see or hear him, but he still felt the eerie presence surrounding him as he walked, almost fearful as he glanced around to see if anything was watching him or spying on him. Though he couldn't see anything hiding anywhere, he certainly felt something enough to question whether or not he was slowly losing his mind due to stress.
Finding himself turning in toward the library, Steve let out a quiet chuckle as he then turned away from it, slightly embarrassed with himself for allowing his own two feet to do such a thing freely without his general input. Leaving the city in order to fight his own learned instincts that drove him to seek shelter for the night, he soon returned to the cave the others had been camping in, finding them already outside of it with Squash at the ready, appearing somewhat eager to continue their quest.
With a small nod hello, he moved to hop onto the beast, finding himself still feeling rather uneasy as they began to move along. He only barely was able to recognize that someone from the group was even talking, which led to him snapping himself back into focus as he realized that this someone in particular was Herobrine.
"Since we're taking several risks, I suggest that we should make a decision on whether or not to...well, use the endermen in our current situation. Not to fully take us into Lunarus, but to get us close enough to set up a small base and prepare our forces should we need to create a distraction or direct attack." The demigod said, somewhat with a worried tone.
"Isn't the risk of injury still great, sir?" Andvari asked, voice a bit quieter than usual.
Herobrine nodded.
"I'm only mentioning it as a potential option for if we find ourselves running short on time. It'll take us long enough to get to Lunarus as is, and if the festival approaches faster than what we imagined, then we'll have some serious problems on our hands that'll force us to do what we have to do in order to continue making good progress."
As the enderman nodded in response, Constiere let out a small hum.
"Wouldn't it be good to send the silverfish to monitor the festival preparations more closely so that we at least have a good idea of where they're currently at? Like, have them find the date and whatever?"
Listening and considering the boy's words for a moment, Herobrine slowly nodded in response.
"We already have them monitoring the general area, but focusing on getting that sort of information would be nice. I'll call for them then, so we can plan accordingly."
As the demigod spoke, that same, nasty feeling of overwhelming dread came over the group, especially the miner, though it was in a slightly stronger fashion than before. In fact, rather than feeling the desire to run away, it was almost as if Steve was feeling the sense of a silent command. It wasn't for him, but the feeling was accompanied by a general sense of being asked to do something, even though he felt confusion arise as his mind hadn't found yet what he had to do.
Within the span of five minutes, the sound of quick, underground movement came to them, and not soon after, a single silverfish appeared, its small, beady eyes staring up at them with expectation.
Steve found himself staring at the creature with genuine awe. How could it even survive both hot temperatures and freezing ones?
Herobrine bent forward a bit in order to speak to it.
"Slight addition to your earlier command. As you keep an eye over the kingdom of Lunarus, please pay attention to any information having to do with this festival that they're planning. Specifically, we'd like to know any details on when it will be occurring, and what the general schedule and plan of events will be like. Report back to me as soon as you find anything."
With a few squeaks of acknowledgment, the creature quickly buried itself away back beneath the surface of the earth, moving quickly as it went to wherever it needed to go.
Letting out a quick breath, Herobrine turned back toward the others.
"That'll sort itself out. It'll get there way before us, so let's be sure to not trail too far behind."
Beginning to lead the group away, Herobrine gave a quick glance over to Steve as he did so.
"Be alert."
Nodding again, Steve gave a quick pat to Squash's head as she took the instruction to move forward.
The snow-covered land was relatively easy to travel through, with only some, slightly visible deep patches of snow that Steve was careful to avoid. Mobs were now beginning to enter the space once again, though, they were pretty scattered across the land, and most of them were keeping their distance from the nearby city and village. It was a strangely peaceful night, and Steve wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to that.
Finding Squash's movements somewhat comforting, Steve began to feel a general sense of tiredness suddenly come upon him, much to his confusion. He'd been fully awake and alert just moments before hopping onto the beast, what was so different? Had the realization that it was night finally hit him, or what?
The feeling of sleepiness began to hit him harder, causing his eyes to droop slightly as he began his desperate fight against the action. Why was he suddenly sleepy again? Didn't he get enough rest? Hadn't he fixed his schedule yet? Steve found himself somewhat very confused as he continued to try and fight himself from dosing off. Though sleep sounded appealing, it was beginning to really bug him that he still couldn't get a firm grip on his own habits. Though he knew well enough that he'd been fully rested, it was almost as if some outside force was trying to make him rest even more.
...
Maybe he could get a little nap in, to satisfy whatever was causing him to doze off. If the others weren't paying attention to him now, would they even notice? If it really was his own body finally relaxing from the stress of the situation at hand, he could indulge it before they found themselves in an event that would only make it worse.
He chose to give in without the chance of giving himself the ability to have second thoughts.
It was dark, cold, and yet, comforting.
His gaze wandered around the empty dreamscape, searching for anything that stood out amongst the endless void. Though he felt like he was wading through air, Steve soon realized that his own two feet were taking him forward, stepping upon platforms that only came when he approached.
Within the empty skies, he saw what appeared to be large, gliding figures that were high above him. They circled endlessly around his current location with shining, piercing emerald gazes staring back down at him with clear interest. The details of their bodies were hard to make out from where he was, but from what he could see, their wings looked like fabric flying in the wind as they flapped lazily up and down, their tails swaying behind them. They were a dark blue mostly, though, they could easily be mistaken for being a hazy grey as well.
Loud shrieks left their mouths as they flew around, causing him to cover his ears, though the sound rang through every fiber of his being regardless. The sound was ear-breaking, yet haunting as he began to slightly pick up the pace in order to outrun them. They, however, began to chase after him the moment they realized that he was running.
A figure appeared in the distance, much to his general surprise. Their form appeared tall, yet rather unfamiliar as he got closer and closer. Calling out to them, he found that his mouth made no sound, much to his horror. Though he tried to yell, nothing came out, and he found himself being drowned out completely by the soaring creatures up above.
Suddenly, a voice rang out before him.
"You feel the pressure of expectations coming upon you, and yet, you push on regardless." It said, seemingly in a curious manner.
Another shriek came from above, causing him to flinch.
"Hopelessly in love with the world, you bring aid to those who wish to diminish the life upon it, much to your conflicting ideals."
The shrieks came again as he continued to walk forward, trying to get a closer look at the individual that was speaking to him at the moment. He found himself unsuccessful, however, as the figure remained quite out of reach, hidden from view by a dense veil of glowing light.
"You find yourself lost as you try to decide whether to do the right thing or stick to the plans that were made for you, regardless of the sacrifices you'll have to make in order to fulfill either of them."
Steve froze.
Was...how did this person know about his inner thoughts? Was this a dream?
"There's hope for a lost soul such as yours."
The figure appeared to look around for a moment or so, letting out an amused chuckle soon after.
"You dream not of an ideal world, nor of horrors untold. You dream of an endless void, tonight. I take it that you don't dream very often?"
Steve tried to say "No," only managing to mouth the word as nothing that could be heard left his lips.
The stranger, however, nodded in understanding as if they'd heard him loud and clear.
"Ah. How strange. A man who doesn't dream. Quite strange, how you managed to summon the interest of these phantoms above, though. You normally wouldn't be able to see them in a true dream or nightmarish hellscape."
As the other pointed upward, Steve followed and switched his attention back to what he now knew were phantoms. Faintly, he remembered hearing about them not too long ago, though, now he understood why it was hard to tell whether or not they actually existed. Looking back down, he found that the strange figure had drawn considerably nearer to him on their own accord.
"You ally yourself with vile blood, you know. It's taken me quite a while to find you since it's rather difficult to find individual humans when they don't sleep properly, but the hint of a will to dream allowed me to find you now."
Something glowed in the stranger's hand, somewhat appearing like a beacon of light as they raised it up to the sky.
"Rest easy. The nightmare will be over, soon enough."
As the other swung the sword straight down, the empty dream broke in an instant.
Steve's eyes fluttered open as momentary confusion overtook him. Waking up to find Squash still trotting along behind the others, he let out a quiet yawn as he slowly got used to the new surrounding area, finding himself a bit disoriented as he got used to the sight of spruce trees dusted with the presence of snow. Realizing that he'd leaned forward to use the back of Squash's head as a pillow, he sat back up, trying to make it seem like he'd been alert the entire time, though he was unsure of whether or not the others had noticed him at all. Finding it quiet enough to think, Steve fiddled around with the reins in his hand as they continued to travel.
Though his memory was a bit clouded, he remembered that he'd just woken up from a "dream," if he could even call it that respectively. The whole atmosphere of the place seemed rather off for one of his many experiences in his own dreamscapes, even managing to be somewhat more unnerving than any nightmare he ever remembered having in his life. The lack of vibrant skies and the presence of cursed creatures made him feel a bit worried about his own current situation, despite the fact that such a thing posed no actual threat to him in the real world.
…
Or did it?
It was rather probable that the dream could've been a warning to him, given that the person he saw in it spoke coherently, and he'd never seen nor heard of them before in his life. Divine beings and monsters alike already existed proudly within his world, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that they existed within the dream world as well. After all, if other dimensions existed, why couldn't that place be considered one too? Why couldn't people travel freely there as well? Even though he was beginning to suspect that he was starting to lose his rightful mind, it wasn't that insane to imagine that a divine being of some sort, or a monster perhaps, broke into his unconscious thoughts in order to communicate with him. He was already being chased physically, why not feel unsafe in his dreams, as well?
What did the stranger mean when they said that "the nightmare will be over?" Vile blood? Were they talking about Herobrine? About killing him? About killing both him and Herobrine? What was the situation here? Was it a mistake to take a nap after all, even if the others hadn't noticed him?
Had they been found?
It took a moment for him to realize that deep dread had overtaken him, and it didn't take much longer to realize that it was definitely the kind that Herobrine forced out, though it didn't hit him or Squash as hard as it had before. It did, however, cause all present mobs apart from the generals around them to immediately begin to flee from the area, much to his amazement.
"I sense a pulse. Not one from a lower god, I think, but...it's weaker. Could be a human."
"With a divine weapon, maybe?" Constiere asked, to which Herobrine responded with a nod.
"Perhaps. Or maybe it's a demigod. Either way, they're approaching, and I'm not exactly getting the sense that they just so happened to be in the same area and are just passing through."
With a wave of his hand, Herobrine glanced between the rest of the group.
"Go hide yourselves. If it's me they're after, they'll disregard you entirely. No need for groups, just do as you must to hide efficiently."
The group nodded in response, immediately scattering to hide in the nearby hills, holes, treelines, and caves if they were to spot any particularly decent spots. Steve, in particular, rushed off toward a nearby distant hill, finding himself too worried to think of other options. Though he wanted to follow one of the others, he didn't know if Squash would lead to them being easier to spot, so he simply went on his own with her. The beast's trot became a sort of heavy gallop, and Steve found himself being nearly flung off of the saddle as Squash ran much faster than what he had been expecting past all of the trees.
As they neared the hill, he tried to slow her down as best he could before she completely ran into it, succeeding only barely as she came to a rough stop. Directing her to go around the hill, once she appeared to be quite concealed enough, Steve dismounted her, moving to give her a gentle pat on the head as he whispered words of appreciation to her.
"My. What a curious sight to see."
The familiar voice startled him greatly, and as he turned to meet the stranger that had come upon him, he had little time to react as he found a sword coming right toward him instead. Drawing his blade and dodging to the side in order to prevent Squash from taking a hit, he managed to counter it; the blades sang out as they collided, and he nearly collapsed under the weight of the other's attack.
"W-Woah, wait! I'm just-"
He didn't even have the time to finish his sentence before the other was suddenly flying through the air, Squash in his place as he realized that she'd gone and rushed to his aid.
Looking at her with an appreciative glance and a quick "thank you," he focused his attention back onto his attacker, waiting for him to get back up.
The man laughed as his cerulean cloak fell from his head as he got back up, revealing dark, raven-colored hair that was tied off in a ponytail, as well as a disturbingly calm look in his cerulean blue-colored eyes.
"Quite strange, quite strange. Had I known you'd be accompanied by the demon beside you, I'd have taken care of the other one first, and not after. I mistook you for an easy target, I'm afraid."
The other drew his blade, which, as the miner got a better look at it, was actually slightly glowing, much to his utter shock.
"For the sake of manners, I'll grace you with knowledge of my name. You may refer to me as Julian, and for your knowledge, I must inform you that under the command of the Aethren king, you, for better or worse, have been sentenced to certain de-"
Julian was interrupted once again, though this time he found himself under the sudden attack of a rather large ball of fire that completely melted and burned the ground that was once beneath him. He was knocked even further away from the miner, letting out a yell of pain as he tried to extinguish himself. Looking to where the fire had come from, Steve was relieved to find Herobrine standing on top of the hill, nothing but the intent to murder present within his harsh gaze.
"Why you would go for the human first is beyond me, considering I'm the one who can feel your presence and easily find where you are, but regardless…" Herobrine said, jumping from the hill as he landed in front of the miner, silently commanding him with his hand to back away and put some space between them.
As Julian finally got rid of the fire, he pointed the sword directly toward Herobrine.
"I was foolish and made a quick error. I'll be sure to correct it now."
With a tilt of the head and a bit of a laugh, Herobrine focused his attention on the blade.
"Awakening, is it? I haven't seen it in a while, but I know well that you've been mistreating it, haven't you? Quite dull for a holy blade, isn't it?"
Julian scowled at him.
"Going rapidly between dreams in order to rid the world of vile blood takes quite a toll. Maybe if you'd given yourself up in the first place, it'd be better off."
"Or maybe, if you took a break and went back up to give it proper care, it wouldn't look so much like shit, yeah? I doubt you'd be able to even do the job you came to do with that much-dulled edge." Herobrine rebutted, reveling in the other's clearly angered reaction.
Without much else, Julian leaped forward in order to try and land a hit on the demigod, failing as he simply stepped quickly out of the way.
"If you want to get it fixed at a convenient time, how about lending it to me? I'll sharpen it up real quick, no issue!"
"And why would I do that?" Julian responded, taking another swing that missed spectacularly.
"I'd take much better care of it than you currently do. Can't you see how sad it is? Shouldn't the Champion of Guidance take better care of the weapon that helped him to earn that title? What a shame, what a shame..."
Slightly surprised at the mention of the fact that their attacker was indeed a champion of some divine sort, Steve flinched as the champion in question narrowly missed Herobrine's head as the demigod dodged his attacks swiftly.
As Herobrine continued to gleefully taunt the other, Steve continued to back away in a calm, unsuspecting manner, attempting to gather as little attention as possible despite slowly pulling Squash along with him as well. Thankful that the other was apparently causing a distraction in order to let him get away, Steve began to move behind the hill, but not before accidentally locking gazes with their opponent for a split second.
Julian glanced at Herobrine for a moment before stepping away, making somewhat of a beeline toward Steve as he brandished his sword out to attack.
"I intend to eliminate you both before the day arrives. I don't have time for this childish exchange of words!"
The other came closer to Steve in an instant, causing him to panic as he began to sprint off after instructing Squash to do the same, though she instead moved to chase Julian in an almost blind rage. His feet threatened him with the possibility of tripping and falling, but he kept on running, hoping that Herobrine would somehow take the opportunity to solidly land a hit on the other if Squash didn't manage to do so first. He was in no position to turn around and fight, so he tried as best as he possibly could to keep up his momentum, heavy breaths leaving him as the cold air stung his eyes and throat. It wasn't until he found himself flying through the air that he stopped, finding himself suddenly running off the top of another hill toward a short mountain that was not too far away from him. He continued shortly after taking a small tumble, wondering what was causing Herobrine to take his sweet time.
Finding himself running out of breath fast, Steve began to slow down, despite his brain screaming at him to do the complete opposite. As he approached the mountain, a deeper sense of dread began to fill his body, and he soon came to a realization.
Herobrine was attempting to gather Julian's attention from a distance. The demigod was nowhere in sight, but Julian was quickly approaching him.
With a deep breath of courage that ended up causing him to go into a slight coughing fit due to the sudden intake of frigid air, he brandished his blade toward the other as Julian himself rushed in at a lower angle, presumably to attempt skewering him from a lower place in his body so that his running ability might be significantly affected. Bracing himself for the potential impact should he fail to block the attack, Steve waited for the other to attack with full force, closing his eyes as a foolish reflex once the other quickly darted to the side in order to hit him and swung faster than what he could mentally process.
…
A few seconds passed before Steve realized that the tip of the other's blade hadn't pierced his flesh yet.
…
A few more passed before he opened his eyes again, only to find Herobrine in front of him, much to his relief.
…
Why was he taking so long to retaliate? Had he not had his own sword ready to block the attack as he did? Did he have to draw up the courage to fight back as well?
…
It took the sight of the demigod beginning to buckle for Steve to realize that he hadn't heard the sound of a sword being freed from its sheath moments prior.
As the other divine being attempted to take his sword back from Herobrine's abdomen with clear evidence of a struggle, a look of utter fear overtook his expression, though for what reason, Steve wasn't aware. The demigod in front of him attempted to regain his footing, but fell back toward the miner moments later as the sword unsheathed itself from his body with a solid trail of blood following it. Surprisingly enough, their attacker backed away rather quickly in horror for someone who had been on the attack moments prior, and, without even so much as a small quip, he ran briskly away, to Steve's utter shock.
Didn't he have the full opportunity to end them right then and there? Weren't they in range for a double-kill? Not that he was complaining, but Steve found himself absolutely bewildered by the events that had just occurred, sheathing his own blade in disbelief. A sharp breath led his focus back to the person who had gotten injured in his stead, however.
Dropping to his knees, Steve went to check on Herobrine, placing a hand on the other's shoulder as he went to assess the damage that had been taken. Herobrine shrugged off his hand almost immediately, though his focus was mainly on the palm of his own bloody hand, which Steve had guessed was used to grab at the fresh wound the other had just sustained.
"A-are you alrig-"
"-D-dammit! I almost...I almost had it…" The demigod's voice was shaky, and seemed to be forced out with every breath as he spoke, much to Steve's concern. Though, his concern was momentarily laced with confusion as he thought about the man's words for a moment.
Realization flashed in Steve's eyes once he finally processed them completely, leading to him holding up a finger in disbelief.
"Wait. Did you try to grab the sword? While it was in you?"
Herobrine turned his head away as best as he could.
"...I-It was the only chance I had to nab it."
Looking at the other with a mixture of anger and even deeper concern on his features, Steve reached out in order to shake him by the shoulders, only to stop and simply allow his hands to remain in the air as he reminded himself of how much the other valued his personal space.
"Are you nuts?! Why'd you try to actually grab it with your hand like that?!" Steve asked loudly in disbelief.
Not receiving an answer straight away, Steve went to try and look around to see the other's face a bit better in an attempt to find out what was troubling him (besides the gaping wound in his body, of course). To his added concern, Herobrine's gaze was loosely focused on the ground in front of him instead of his palm. He was beginning to sway slightly in a manner that suggested he'd collapse completely into a heap on the ground soon enough, as his gaze had now lost its glow, leaving a weakened silver in its place. More and more blood was pouring out of the wound, but to Steve's horror, some of that deep red blood was accompanied by a solid black material that he hesitated to refer to as blood as well. It did not come out as fluidly as the blood did, and did not appear to be made of skin, either.
He suddenly became aware of the fact that Herobrine's situation had gotten really, really bad in a matter of mere seconds. What he'd normally think was considered a mere paper cut to the other was now looking more and more like a serious, fatal wound.
Slightly moving away in order to give the other more space, Steve began to pull his backpack out from behind him.
"Hold on, stay awake, Brine! I-I think I still have some leftover potions from when you patched me up, yeah."
With a look that suggested fading consciousness, Herobrine looked back at him.
"...T-this isn't a mortal wound...the blade...was…"
The other's struggling voice made his stomach drop, remembering the information that he'd received about such weapons beforehand.
Was...was that it, then? Was Herobrine going to die, here and now?
Shaking his head in growing panic, Steve gave off a shaky chuckle.
"The potion should help, at least...r-right?" Looking at the other for confirmation that he wasn't sure he'd be receiving, Steve was at least thankful that the other could still manage to keep his eyes open in order to focus on him.
Pulling out the leftover potions from his back, he struggled a bit to get the top off the potion of healing he'd reached for first before succeeding with a triumphant "Ha!", immediately moving to pour some of it onto a cloth that he'd also dug out from his bag.
"I...I'm hoping this is clean enough, but-"
"-S-steven. Stop."
Just as he was going in to treat the other's wound, the miner froze as the other commanded him to. With an expression of brief confusion, Steve rose a brow at the other.
"...W-what do you mean? We have to get this treated, or-"
"-Steven. Stop." Herobrine said once again, his weak voice a bit firmer.
Shaking his head, Steve attempted to get closer in order to begin helping Herobrine, only for the demigod to lean back in response, which led to him wincing a bit at the apparent pain that action caused.
"Brine, at least let me try…" Steve pleaded softly, holding the other's gaze as best he could.
"...S-steve, just...stop."
Holding up his blood-covered hand for the human to see, Herobrine attempted to glare at him, only managing to form a weakened scowl.
"...S-save…save your breath..."
Steve glared at him back.
"Save yours. Look, all I'm trying to do is help-"
"-You can't-"
"-At least let me make it hurt less. Fatal or not, let me make it hurt less, Brine. Please. For your sake."
Herobrine's gaze now filled with disbelief at his words. Steve continued.
"S-sure, the blade was blessed. Whatever. I...If you're gonna die, at least let me make it so it's as peaceful as possible, a-alright? If I can make the cut sting less, let me. If I can make you more comfortable, let me. Just…"
Steve took a deep breath, letting his hands rest upon his lap as he gripped the supplies in his hands a bit tighter.
"...I only know vaguely about all the horrible stuff you're capable of, and I can only imagine what you did to piss off everybody enough for them to do...that," Steve pointed at the other's wound with his hand that was occupied by the potion. "...but...you at least deserve to know peace before the end. Everybody does."
Moving closer to the other as carefully as possible, Steve watched as the demigod's posture began to relax.
"The potion...might not do much, sure. But it can numb the pain at least. I hope. I don't know how divine beings are made and what your bodies are like, so cut me some slack, alright?"
Though he finished his words in a slightly joking manner, he nevertheless looked at the other with deep worry set on his features, watching to see just how much pain Herobrine was in at the moment.
"Now, I don't have any real experience when it comes to dressing chest wounds, but since I'm doubting that you have the strength to remove your shirt and everything else in the way, we'll just have to make do, I guess."
It was very clear that Herobrine was not comfortable with him getting any nearer to his body, but despite the demigod's silent protest, Steve was able to get close enough to dab some of the potion onto his wound, earning a small hiss at the contact. Lightly testing the waters, Steve managed to get even closer, pouring the potion bottle's contents directly into the other's wound as it became apparent that the bleeding was apparently halting. He wasn't sure if it was the potion's doing or Herobrine's divine status at work, or both, but thankfully, the wound was pushing out less red blood, though the black substance was still very much present. Though he didn't have any adhesive bandages that would stick to the other without having to be wrapped around his body, he continued to clean the wound as best he could, making sure that anything that could be removed easily was.
Looking up to see how Herobrine was doing, a feeling of pity overcame him as it became heavily apparent that the other's body was doing all that it could to keep him upright, conscious, and alive, as his shaky, heavier breathing indicated. Though he couldn't see it, Steve was willing to bet that the weapon had gone clean through the demigod, internal organs and bones be damned. Even if the other didn't necessarily die, it'd most likely be one hell of a recovery process for him if he was lucky enough to survive this. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to take the other somewhere in order to get surgery to fix his internal issues, so he was hoping that if Herobrine were to survive, his body would repair things well enough. Again, he wasn't that knowledgeable about the anatomy and abilities of the Aethren divines, so he could only guess and hope for the best possible outcome.
Finishing up as best as he could, Steve gave the other a gentle smile, backing away with his hands high enough in the air for Herobrine to see clearly.
"See? That wasn't all too bad, right?"
As the other went to hold his wound with his hand as he looked at it, Steve reached out again, letting out a small worried cry as the other froze at the sound.
"C-careful! Leave it alone, alright? I cleaned it for a reason, the more you touch it, the more it's gonna hurt, Brine."
Seemingly considering his words for a moment, Herobrine silently debated himself on whether or not he should follow the miner's instructions before ultimately lowering his hand, instead moving to stand up despite the current difficulty he was having with forcing himself to even sit up.
The miner decided to stop giving the other his space in order to try and assist him with getting up, much to Herobrine's general discomfort. The demigod, however, gave no verbal protest, allowing the miner to pull him up onto his feet.
"...T-take me...to Andi…" He instead commanded weakly.
Somewhat surprised by the nickname, Steve nodded.
"If it's easier for you and doesn't aggravate your injury too much, you can hang onto me until we get back to the others. I promise nobody's gonna be around to see it."
Without so much as a groan of annoyance or alternative suggestion, Herobrine, rather roughly as he almost collapsed, wrapped an arm around the miner's shoulders and gripped at his shirt, taking a moment to regain his footing before standing up a bit straighter now that he had actual support. As soon as Steve found that he was steady enough, he began to walk, somewhat thankful that it was becoming more evident that the other had not sustained such a fatal wound after all, though it was still pretty bad. Not too soon after they began, they went back around the hill to find Squash wandering around, looking intently for their attacker before her gaze landed on the two of them. She quickly trotted up to the two, but Steve shook his head as she attempted to nudge the both of them as if to say "where'd you go? why don't you get up here already?"
"I don't think it'll be good for him to be knocked around on the saddle, girl. Plus, if he falls off, it'll be even worse…" Steve said gently, beginning to walk past her as she began to follow closely behind them.
He was desperately hoping that the others hadn't gone too far away, and, at the very least, Herobrine was silently trying to somehow signal them with magic in order to find them.
The trip back to where the others were gathered was a troubling one as they stumbled forward, leaving a trail of shedding blood in their path, but once the others saw both Steve and the current state that Herobrine was in, it took relatively zero seconds for Andvari to teleport to them and for the others to begin rushing in their general direction. The enderman, visibly distressed from the deathly appearance of his master, immediately took him away from the miner, effortlessly picking him up to check over his wounds before turning around to look at the others with a commanding gaze.
"Where's the nearest cave?! We need somewhere out of sight so that he can't be disturbed!" Andvari called out, holding the demigod close to his chest in a protective manner as it became evident that he'd passed out.
"Not too far away, sir. I believe I saw one big enough for us to take refuge in." Malgun answered quickly as he arrived.
Constiere finally approached them last, a bit out of breath.
"Woah, what happ-"
"-Divine trouble, he...he took a hit meant for me from a blade that was actually blessed or something like that!" Steve hastily explained as he cut off Constiere, panic now setting in despite his calmer behavior moments prior.
"...A normal sword wouldn't do this. It was definitely divinely enchanted. He's in trouble." Andvari said in response, beginning to carry the other as his gaze darted around to search for the cave in question.
Malgun directed them over, beginning to lead as they rushed over to a safer location. The remaining two quickly followed behind, Steve moving to grab Squash's reins in a slightly hazy panic, hoping that Herobrine would be okay once they managed to help him.
Y'all, has anybody else lost their general sense of time like me during this pandemic? Like, I thought yesterday was the first of July, and I didn't even realize it was a new week until I looked at the calendar, lmao I thought it was Tuesday on Thursday XD
So uhhhh yeah, Herobrine got stabbed with a divine weapon, lol. Not fun, but oh well, he'll have to deal with it I guess. But heyyyyy Steve got to return the favor from when he healed him before! I'd thought it'd be best to keep this chapter a bit shorter so that I can get back into a consistent schedule lol. "Sudden Interruption" really meant sudden interruption, so I think the more abrupt nature of this chapter works a bit (for now, until I inevitably go back to read through this fic and end up screaming at myself lmao)
Fun Facts!:
1.) The so-called "Champion of Guidance" is another divine being, though, he's a demigod rather than a lower god. The difference between the two is rather complicated, but I'm gonna try to explain it simply. A lower god is a divine being born with distinct powers when either two other lower gods get together, or a higher god ends up making them themselves. A demigod in this fic's context can refer to several different things, whether it be a divine being created from the union of a lower god and human, a human who managed to earn the favor of the gods and was bestowed either weakened powers or a divine weapon, or simply enough, a person who was born with no powers but formed them later on, suggesting something unusual about their development. If in the latter case, it suggests that something, whether it be genetics or something of the sort, got in the way, meaning that their powers are significantly weaker than what a lower god can do. Despite this and both Herobrine and Julian being demigods themselves, it's pretty evident that Herobrine's much, much stronger and capable than your typical demigod. That's why the Aether's switched up things in order to send more lower gods his way, since it's like, waaaay too risky to send weaker beings to him, though, this one got lucky lol
2.) The way that a "blessed" weapon takes out immortal beings is kinda weird. The higher divine beings, in their infinite wisdom, realized after a few particular incidents that there should definitely be a kind of "killswitch" available for if an immortal being, particularly those placed in charge of the Aether, were to become too corrupt and they weren't able to realize it in time. Thus, the practice of blessing was created, and subsequently enchantments, as well. Most divine beings are made with traces of the higher gods' lifeforce, which can easily be found in their blood. A blessed weapon is made to cut through the flesh and, as efficiently as possible, kill enough of those traces for long enough so that impacted divine beings are able to sustain enough mortal damage in order to perish. Depending on where the weapon lands, you may have to hit a divine being a bunch of times in order to actually kill them though, since the blood has to be completely halted and/or tainted due to rapid regeneration abilities (it's easier to kill one completely if you land a direct hit on the heart, since that pushes out blood lol). Any deep contact causes the flesh to die and blood to like, clump up and fester, causing that black appearance. Blessed weapons have rarely been actually used on the Aethren gods, but they've been reserved and kept in safe places, and the practice is carefully passed down from person to person in order to have a failsafe, just in case. The true death of a divine being is always a messy one!
3.) Poor Steve already had a crappy sleep schedule, he rarely sees dreams anymore. When he does, however, they're more akin to feverish nightmares (like in my case, I never have normal dreams, just weird, realistic nightmares lmao)
4.) Julian is a dreamwalker that focuses primarily on locating specific targets such as Herobrine. Dreamwalkers do as the name suggests, and they travel through both dreams and nightmares, often just to deal with phantoms that potentially lie within either before they have a chance to manifest in the real world. He wasn't so successful in finding Herobrine before because neither Herobrine nor any of his minions ever sleep consistently or at all. Constiere was the only person prior to Steve that ever posed a risk for them, but Julian was never aware of his presence or affiliation with the demigod.
5.) Ironically enough, with the power of Awakening, Julian is able to cause folks to fall asleep in order for him to travel efficiently through dreams. He intially sensed Steve a while back, but only actively started targeted him with the pull of sleep once he noticed that he was slightly surrounded by traces of Herobrine's magical pulse. After that, he used him as like, a sort of guiding compass lol.
6.) Herobrine was initially fine when he got stabbed, but after the adrenaline ran out, his body went "oh crap" as the effects of the blade finally started to work their horrible magic, burning away at his flesh and internal organs. The pain was unbearable. Usually when he gets hit by normal blades, his body is able to repair the damage rather quickly, but thanks to Awakening, the blade left a mark that like, melted away the divine parts of his body that were normally present there (they would've immediately started to rebuild themselves and repair the wound the second the blade left his body).
Anyway, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts!
