Chapter 41: Reconsider and Revise


Pacing in the middle of the forest wasn't what he intended to do at first, but that was exactly what he found himself resorting to once things started to truly sink in a bit deeper.

Steve walked back and forth within the darkness, his gaze blankly being focused on the ground in front of him. His arms were crossed against his chest almost tightly, the rest of his body being rather tense as he moved around.

How was he going to handle himself now? He didn't want to think about it, but the more he examined the idea of Herobrine being his brother, the more upset he became. He started to feel even more disturbed once he started thinking about everything the other had said and done up to this point.

Herobrine had tried to kill him, his own brother, upon their first meeting with each other. He destroyed a village in front of his brother in order to prove a point. He tried to force him to do things he didn't want to do without any consideration for his emotions.

Them being twins meant that he was related to a guy that had the capability to be truly heinous. Them being twins meant that he was related to a killer; one with no regard for human life, no less.

Steve's eyes briefly widened in realization.

Them being twins meant that they were the same age. Herobrine was nineteen.

A nineteen-year-old caused so much destruction, so much chaos, so much grief.

Shocked by the revelation, Steve looked back at the area that he'd come from, only to turn back and continue walking forward away from that direction. He tried to push any thought about the demigod away, finding himself rather unsuccessful in his attempt. He wanted to bury his face into his pillow at home, falling into his comfy bed without a second thought, but going back to his house right now possibly meant going back to the mob generals, and he wasn't exactly ready to face them yet. If they asked questions, he wasn't sure how he'd respond, and if Herobrine showed up…

Well, again, he didn't want to think about that quite yet.

Shifting his direction more north, Steve forced himself to walk faster than what he was used to in order to make his way toward the village. It was hard to navigate himself through the dark forest, avoiding overgrown tree roots and sharp points of random bushes, but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he managed to get himself through the area fine enough. Though the fabric of his pants got caught in a bush or two, he was able to escape the total darkness, approaching the lake that sat in front of his house without managing to accidentally fall into it. Going around the lake, he walked briskly past his house, choosing instead to find refuge within his village. The more he thought about hiding himself away within the walls, the faster he walked as he tried to get himself behind them before anyone could possibly spot him from afar.

The second he passed the front gate of his village, a brief sigh of relief left his lips before he got back on track with losing his mind.

At this time of night, not many places were open that he could lose himself properly in, but he didn't exactly care at this point. Hell, he'd even go into the meadery if it meant forgetting who he was and the situation he was in. All he had right now were the mostly empty streets of Highland, his presence being acknowledged by the activated iron golems around him and illuminated by the lit street lights above him. Though a brief winter breeze snapped him out of his troubled headspace, he was immediately brought back into it as he glanced around and listened to the surrounding area carefully, finding a particular absence of mobs around the village.

He was still present. Where exactly, he didn't know, but all he hoped was that Herobrine didn't come near him anytime soon. Not that he expected the other to recover from his shock so suddenly, though.

Continuing his walk within the village, Steve fell back into his overwhelming thoughts.

Why was it that out of all people, he, a lowly miner, had to be taken completely out of his comfort zone, having his world being swept away from underneath him? He'd been fine with his life before, fine with his perception of the world, and fine with the fact that he'd live a healthy, normal life until the day he finally died. Was it pure chance that he and Herobrine met each other? Was what Mo said true, and they were truly bound to each other, fated to eventually meet regardless of the distance between them?

Mo had clarified enough. They were siblings given life from the same breath. Brothers bound by the same blood. They've taken different paths in life, sure, but regardless of what either of the two wanted, they were connected to each other. Even if Herobrine changed his physical form, no amount of magic could disguise the blood that flowed through his veins. Well, unless he was even able to change his blood, that is.

But why did it have to be him? Couldn't anybody else deal with this situation?

Steve hadn't been completely aware of where his feet had decided on taking him, but it wasn't until he found himself leaning over the side of the village well, which sat in front of the town hall, when he realized that he was completely spiraling.

He thought that he'd have less of a reaction to the news he received given that he'd spent most of his life simply going with the flow, taking in information and training himself to work along with it. He thought that he'd get the easy end of the stick since he didn't even know who his original family was, and had long since come to terms with that. Now he knew. Now he knew that he'd been abandoned for the sake of an experiment he had no say in. Now he knew that essentially, he'd been played like a puppet his entire life, always being tossed around and moved for the sake of someone else's status.

What was this horrible, horrible feeling? Betrayal? Utter confusion? He felt lost. Overwhelmed, angry, sad.

Sad. Bizarrely enough, he felt sad.

He thought about the look upon Herobrine's face once he'd been told the truth. He thought about how they both spent their entire lives living without the knowledge that they were two halves of a particular whole.

On the brink of frustrated tears, Steve let out a small, almost-forced laugh as he stared at his reflection in the water below him, only barely managing to see the outline of his own features due to the little amount of lantern light that had actually managed to get within the well.

He betrayed himself. He said that he was going to distract himself from the situation at hand. He should've known that his own brain wouldn't comply with his wishes like that.

Rubbing a hand down his face, Steve kept his gaze focused on the well water, not even managing to fully register the nearby footsteps that were slowly approaching his location. Though he at first attributed them to a lone iron golem, thinking that it would simply pass him by, he was soon proven wrong as they continued to draw nearer. Eventually, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a face looking curiously at him, leaning over the side of the well in order to get a better look. It wasn't until he saw white hair cascading past a firm shoulder that he even realized that the being that had joined him was human.

Looking up, Steve found himself suddenly being accompanied by a curious, yet concerned Almun.

With widened eyes, Steve abruptly stood straight up, backing away from the well as he fully processed the fact that he wasn't alone anymore.

Almun's concern only grew deeper in response to the action.

"...Steve? You good?"

Silently cursing himself out for allowing his troubling emotions to reflect upon his face (not like he could help it anyway), Steve nodded frantically.

"Yes, yes! I'm perfectly fine!" Steve chuckled nervously, holding his hands up. "Just a little down, that's all! I needed a minute to myself, so…uh, yeah."

As he turned away to begin a hasty escape, Almun briskly went around the well to meet him. Soon enough, a hand found its way onto Steve's shoulder, causing him to lock gazes with the blacksmith that had joined him.

The miner was suddenly aware of the fact that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Hey. Steve. Look at me." Almun started, motioning with his finger. "I know those eyes. I know that face. Something's eating you up, right?"

Steve glanced off to the side with a bit of worry in his gaze, earning a sigh from Almun in response.

Before long, the blacksmith began to lead Steve away from the well, moving back toward his shop slowly as he kept his focus upon the other.

"...You look like you could use more than a minute, Steve." Almun briefly glanced around. "Though, there are probably better places for you to do that in. The fact that I managed to catch you seems like enough of a reason to move, doesn't it?"

Realizing what the other was implying, Steve nodded.

"...Yeah. It isn't exactly the witching hour, is it?"

"No, but people are bound to start making their way out from the bar soon enough. Last thing you need is a messy drunk trying to 'console' you." Almun said, air quoting his words.

As Steve glanced off to the side in consideration, Almun let out a small sigh as they reached the steps of his front porch and working station.

"...Let's go inside, c'mon. The other last thing you want here is village gossip getting started about you too." The blacksmith said quietly, moving a hand to his back as he led him inside his house.

Steve let out a small chuckle.

"You really think people are gonna be looking at me this late at night?"

"...Rather be safe than sorry. You'd be surprised at how late some folks stay up."

With a shrug, Steve allowed himself to be led promptly into Almun's shop.

The inside of the other's house was almost the same as when he last saw it, back when he was originally preparing to leave the safety of his village. Though there were small piles of unfinished ores laying around here and there, it was overall rather neat for a room that he'd been expecting to find rather cluttered given how much Almun often worked. Finding the armour stand that had once briefly held his thoughtfully-crafted armour, Steve looked carefully over the wood before turning away with a sigh, finding himself debating whether or not he could make a quick escape before he had to put Almun's life in danger. The second he looked back at the front door however, Almun stepped in between him and the exit, looking at him with a disapproving expression.

"Not right now, mister. We're talking, and that's final. I can't have you losing your mind out there. Not like this."

With a slightly appreciative gaze in response to the other's genuine concern, Steve glanced up at the man.

"...Are you sure? I don't want to bother you." He asked quietly.

Almun nodded his head.

"I'm positive."

Bringing the miner to a small, nearby dining table, Almun pulled out the one chair that was there before gesturing for Steve to sit. Slightly surprised by the offer, Steve hesitated to move forward.

"Al, I can…well, stand, you know. No need to take the only…"

His words were stopped by Almun walking over to where his fireplace was, moving to a small chair that was currently covered by a pile of leather sheets. Removing the leather and placing the pile just beside the fireplace on the ground, Almun then picked up the empty chair, moved it over to the table, and placed it right across from where the other chair was. The blacksmith then gestured to the first seat again, this time with a bit more emphasis.

"...Sit." He said quietly.

With a nervous gaze, Steve complied, slowly lowering himself onto the crafted wood.

"Al, I…I'm serious about what I said before. I just needed a moment to myself, and-"

"-You can have that moment with me. I know how you get when you're alone, Steve." Almun said, moving away from the table in order to make his way toward his small kitchen area, which sat in front of Steve through a doorway.

Not wanting to trouble Almun, Steve let out a sigh, beginning to stand himself up from his seat.

"Al, I don't need-"

"-You want tea, or hot chocolate?" Almun asked from within the kitchen, peeking out for a moment to meet the miner's gaze.

A bit bewildered by the other's question, Steve blinked.

"Uhh...chocolate?" He answered a bit quietly.

Almun nodded with a hum, giving him a quick thumbs-up before slipping back into the kitchen. Not even a second had passed when Almun peeked back out, glaring at Steve.

Pointing to the chair, Almun kept his gaze.

"Steve. Sit down, you're not going anywhere. If you even try to sneak out of here, I'll drag you back in kicking and screaming, if I have to." He warned.

Once again, Steve sat down in the chair, folding his hands in front of him as he waited for the blacksmith to return.

Before long, Almun exited his kitchen with two mugs in his hands, one red and one brown. Placing the red one in front of Steve, Almun placed the remaining one right in front of him before finally sitting down in the chair across from the miner, taking a moment to adjust himself as he got comfortable. Once settled, he took a sip from the brown mug in front of him, swishing around its contents as he finished.

Almun looked down at the liquid.

"...They really need to start importing the good stuff again. The second-hand cocoa beans they're selling in the market don't hit as hard as these babies do."

Looking down at his own cup of hot chocolate, Steve went to grab the handle of the mug, only to stop as he slowly glanced back up at Almun.

"Al, I'm just a bit stressed, you know? Just give me five minutes to myself, and I'll be fine-"

"-You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on with you, and we're not starting with that until you take the first sip of your drink, there." Almun briefly pointed at the red mug. "You aren't leaving until you're finished either, so get comfortable."

With a frustrated sigh, Steve slowly went to grab his mug, taking a quick sip of his hot chocolate, briefly wincing in response to the heat.

Noticing his response, Almun let out a soft chuckle.

"Man, you haven't gotten your winter tastebuds in, yet? How are you getting fed?"

Steve took another sip of his mug, wincing again.

"Might I remind you that I've been traveling, constantly? I'm only able to eat the stuff that lasts, I haven't had a hot meal in a while!"

"We'll fix that eventually. Start slow, I don't want you to torture your 'buds and burn them all off."

Steve nodded at Almun's words, placing the mug in his hands back down before he took another quick sip. He found his gaze soon focusing on the swishing drink, catching a quick glimpse of small bubbles that had formed before the liquid settled.

Sitting with Almun brought a sense of ease that he'd been missing for quite a while. Not only did he feel warm on the outside, thanks to the lit fire that sat just across the room from them, he also felt rather warm on the inside as well, and that wasn't entirely because of the chocolate. Right now, he was sitting with a close friend; one that he couldn't bear to lose if he happened to tell the other the truth of what madness he'd fallen into.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Almun beat him to the punch.

"Now, Steve. Let me explain to you what we're about to do." The blacksmith started, meeting Steve's gaze firmly.

Steve nodded hesitantly, allowing the other to continue.

"Now, whatever's messing with your head is gonna come out of your mouth. Don't lie. Don't make things up to placate me. Someone who's been out in the wild for this long has got to have seen some serious shit if you're acting like this right now. I didn't see you like this before, but I'm only assuming that things have been building up to this point, correct?"

Steve didn't respond, allowing his gaze to fall to the table in front of him.

What could he say? Almun was right, but if he said anything else about the situation, things would probably not turn out well for either of them.

A pair of fingers found themselves right in front of his face, snapping impatiently as he was brought back into reality.

"Eyes on me." Almun said quietly, earning Steve's attention once again.

With a sigh, Almun pulled his hand back, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he looked at the miner with deep worry in his eyes.

"Steve, come on. I've been worried about you for a while, but this…seeing you like this is only making things worse. Unless you want me on your ass constantly, start talking to me, Steve."

Slowly but surely, Steve buried his head in his hands.

"...Almun. I'm tired. I'm so, so tired."

Almun, relieved that he'd started talking, let out a hum as he went to take a sip of his drink.

"Who wouldn't be, in your situation?"

Steve shook his head.

"It's...it's beyond that. I'm tired, but…for reasons I can't tell you. For your safety."

Almun looked up at him with confusion in his gaze.

"...You're clearly being torn apart by whatever's bugging you, why does it matter if I hear it?"

"Because I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt!" Steve exclaimed, causing Almun to look at him with even more concern on his face. "...Whoever I tell, they...they get hurt, somehow. That's just how it is."

As Steve calmed himself down and averted his gaze away from the other, Almun set his mug down, leaning a bit forward and crossing his arms upon the table.

"...Steve. I appreciate your consideration for my well-being, but you look like an absolute mess right now. I brought you here to talk so you can get things off of your chest. I don't give a damn if I get hurt because of it, you need to unload this on somebody."

Almun moved to hold a hand over his own heart, closing his eyes as he raised the other up.

"I swear to you, not a word that's said in this room will leave it. I'll take this to my grave if I have to."

"...That's the thing, Al. If I tell you, you will." Steve responded quietly, giving the other a moment to consider the implications of his words as a few tears formed at the edge of his vibrant gaze.

Almun took a moment to really examine his words before shaking his head, spotting the miner's watery eyes as he thought to himself briefly.

"...Then I'll deal with that later. Tell me what's hurting you." He said firmly, drawing a look of shock from Steve.

Was Almun putting up a front, or was he completely serious? Was he fully willing to sacrifice himself to give him a moment of comfort?

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Steve sniffled, considering the other's offer quite intently as he focused his attention on the table.

He was immensely stressed out. He was confused. He was conflicted.

Almun was right. He needed to tell somebody about his troubles. Right now, he felt like if he didn't, he'd simply explode from all the pressure. He'd face the consequences later. If Almun was willing to, then he would be too, even if it made him physically sick to think about what that could possibly mean for both of them.

Weakly, Steve met Almun's stern gaze.

"...You promise not to tell?" He asked for confirmation quietly.

"I'll cut off my right arm if I do. It's only fair." Almun answered with a small shrug.

Steve let out a quiet laugh.

"That's a bit too intense, Al…"

Trailing off, Steve glanced back down to the table, fiddling around with his hands a bit as he tried to work up the courage to begin his explanation.

"...I…I guess we can kinda start from the beginning? When I…when I initially got hurt enough in the mines to get sent to the medical center."

Almun nodded, prompting him silently to continue.

Steve took a deep breath.

"...I kinda…lied to people about what caused my injuries. Well, sorta." He paused, looking back up at Almun. "...Do…do you know about…uh, this guy named…H-Herobrine?"

Almun's eyes slightly widened in recognition and surprise at Steve's hushed mention of the demigod's name.

"Yeah, actually. He was quite the big deal back in my old village, for a little bit."

"Really?" Steve asked, pretending like he hadn't heard the information already.

Almun nodded.

"People were obsessed with searching for him. At first, the only word that got around about him was that there was this weird creature going around causing bloodshed, but that was every mob, so it wasn't even that special. They didn't even believe he actually existed as a separate danger beyond that until one day, some weird, shadowy figure with purple eyes came nearby, and suddenly, people got the idea that all mythical creatures existed. Same thing happened here too, remember? After that, they then saw him as a threat, and wanted somebody else to take him down before he had the chance to target us."

Steve nodded slowly in response, raising a slight brow at the blacksmith.

"...So, you don't believe he exists?"

Almun shook his head.

"No, frankly. He's a newer legend amongst the population, and nobody's gotten the time to verify him properly. My family…well, let's just say that we weren't exactly well-liked for our practices, but we at least knew how to distinguish between fact and fiction. We knew he wasn't real. Others didn't believe us."

"...You were smart blacksmiths, huh?"

Almun let out a small chuckle.

"Blacksmiths? I wish. Our family was cursed. Some knucklehead centuries ago decided to dabble in the dark arts, and somehow that evolved into criminal behavior. I didn't want to tell you because I thought it was irrelevant at this poi-well, actually, no." The man paused, thinking to himself before continuing. "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you'd react. Last village I was in before this one threatened to burn me at the stake for it. Didn't want to risk that here."

Surprised that the other was even mentioning being targeted in the past, Steve found himself focusing intently on Almun.

"...Tell me what, exactly? I don't get it."

"...My family was part of one of the earliest 'Illager' clans that ever formed. We're the ones who were brave enough to be in tune with not only the natural parts of this world, but the arcane ones as well. Normal people are too scared to admit how terrifying this world truly is when you really think about the monsters that are in it, and how they came to be. We kinda got into the real nitty-gritty parts and learned about the true nature of this place, getting all into the 'forbidden' knowledge and stuff. People really, really hated us until they realized that they could profit off the more dangerous information we have, so, if we weren't chased away from a village, we just...actively hid ourselves from the world. I was lucky enough to land in villages that thought we were evil for what we knew. Left us alone for the most part…" Almun confessed, moving to take another, drawn-out sip from his mug.

Steve stared at Almun in shock, though, what soon occupied his mind more was excitement instead.

Selwyn wasn't the source of hidden knowledge that he needed. It was Almun.

But what was an Illager, of all things? Should he be worried?

Seeing the excited glint in his eye, Almun chuckled into his drink, setting it down soon after.

"How'd you think I knew about the dragon in the first place? I know it exists for a fact. The Elder doesn't. He's only going off an assumption, which just makes everything he's doing even worse."

Confusion flashed across Steve's gaze.

"...Wait, does…does that mean that you…uh, know how to…?" He asked quietly, earning added confusion from Almun.

"...Spit it out, I'm lost here."

Steve gathered his confidence, bracing himself for a possible denial.

"...Do you know how to activate portals?" Steve asked.

Almun thought to himself for a moment before giving Steve a cautious, serious glare.

"...Why would you need that information?" Almun asked, causing Steve to grow rather nervous.

"I...I have a reason. Uh, let me finish my story from earlier, alright?" Steve responded, holding his hands up as Almun leaned back in his seat. A chuckle escaped his lips soon after. "I thought we were talking about me here, Al?"

Almun let out a small hum.

"My apologies, sorry."

As the blacksmith crossed his arms in front of his chest, Steve took a deep breath before beginning to speak, folding his hands in front of him.

"...About Herobrine. I was asking if you knew about him because…well…he does exist, actually."

A look of amusement came from Almun before Steve gave him a more serious glare.

"I'm not joking, I've met him. He's the whole reason why I even became a champion in the first place."

Almun's expression slowly fell into somewhat angered concern.

"...Don't tell me you only became a champion to find him, Steve. He doesn't-"

"-No! I'd much rather prefer it if I'd never even come across him at all!" Steve exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up in anger, soon after calming down and sitting back in his seat.

Looking into the other's eyes, Steve found genuine concern and momentary shock there. A bit of guilt came to him soon after.

"...Sorry." Steve apologized. "...He…he ambushed me in the mines one day, kicked my ribs in, and left me with a warning. He came back, kidnapped me from my house, and nearly killed me with a creeper explosion. That's how I got injured enough to get sent to the hospital. That's how I found out I could heal up pretty quickly. That's how I got recommended to the Elder."

Almun left him in complete silence, looking down at him with a somewhat blank expression.

With pleading eyes, Steve looked up at him as tears began to form once again.

"You can think I'm lying all you want, but I swear, that's what happened! I…I nearly died, a-and-"

Almun closed his eyes and held a gentle hand up, pausing his upset explanation.

"...Steve, I believe you. You're getting really upset by all this, so of course, I believe you. I'm…I'm just confused about one thing."

"...W-what?"

"...How come he didn't just…finish the job? The Herobrine I've heard about kills without reason. He kills quickly, too; he doesn't just play around with his prey like that. If the rumours are true, then why were you spared?"

Relieved that Almun didn't think he was joking, Steve let out a sigh of relief as he continued speaking.

"...Because we...we kinda look alike, that's why."

Confused, Almun waited for him to elaborate.

"...He was interested in me for that reason alone. He left me, came to me again after the Elder selected me to be a champion, and decided to use me in his plan after that. He kept me alive because he was curious enough about our similarities to not immediately get rid of me."

Almun slowly nodded at his words.

"...So…what you're saying is that…you work…for Herobrine."

Steve nodded, his expression somewhat fearful for the other's reaction.

"...He's the only reason why I'm alive right now. He, with three other people, watched over me and took me with them. Not too long ago, we managed to get up to Lunarus, and…h-he chose me to be his champion."

"...Why did he need to do that?"

Steve took a deep breath, briefly considering backing out before deciding to just continue.

It was now or never. He had to convince Almun to help him.

"...The world is at risk of being destroyed, Al. Not just ours, too. The dragon is the only thing keeping the world together right now; if it's killed, or if it's left to die, we'll all die with it. Something needs to be there to take its place and whatever, and Herobrine originally planned for that thing to be him. His powers are too much for him though, so he elected me to do it instead. Problem is, we don't know where the portal to get to the dragon is, let alone how to activate it. We need to find that out soon, or else everything we've done to this point would be for nothing."

Almun let out a small hum.

"...So, let me get this straight, you need to learn how to activate a portal because the dragon's gonna die, and that's gonna cause the end of the world? And Herobrine put you up to this?"

Steve nodded his head.

"More or less. I really, really need your help, Al."

Almun went to take another sip of his drink. He left the miner in tense silence for a minute or so until a low hum escaped from his throat.

"...That kind of knowledge has been passed down in my family for generations on end. If it gets into the wrong hands, who knows what kind of shenanigans could happen as a result." Almun paused, making eye contact with the miner. "...I'm not saying that you aren't trustworthy, I'm just saying that I can't go around telling people my secrets without a second thought."

"...Then why did you even tell me about the portal in the first place?!" Steve asked with a bit of frustration in his tone.

"I didn't think that you'd actually go for it! I thought that you'd be smart enough to avoid getting into that whole mess."

Slightly offended, Steve narrowed his gaze.

"Hey, I was trying to avoid it. Not my fault that I got pushed into it!"

As Almun waved him off, Steve let his expression fall as he found himself still a bit miffed by what the other had said. Disappointed by the blacksmith's refusal, Steve allowed his head to fall onto the table as a groan left his lips.

"Al…" Steve whined. "You're the closest I've gotten to actually finding someone who can help me with this, and you won't tell me anything? We're literally gonna all die if I can't get to the End!"

Almun rolled his eyes.

"I know, but how can I trust you to not tell anybody else after the fact? If you work with Herobrine, who's to say that he wouldn't tell anybody, either? What if he tells everybody he comes across? What does that mean for my family? Can't you find another source?"

Steve slightly lifted his head up in order to look at the other with lidded, tired eyes.

"We've been looking. The dragon's dying faster than what we originally thought, and the End is already getting messed up, or whatever. I don't think that I can find anybody else soon enough before we all die. I can promise you though, your secret will be safe with me and…uh, Herobrine. Besides, the last time I let information slip, he burned down a village to get rid of the witnesses. I can almost guarantee you that he's not prone to letting secrets slip like that."

Confusion appeared on Almun's face before it was slowly replaced with slight horror upon fully processing the miner's words.

"...He what?"

Sitting up again, Steve briefly found himself somewhat surprised with how straightforward of a manner he'd spoken in given how terrible the words that came from his mouth truly were. With a saddened sigh, he glanced downward.

"...The closest village to here isn't a village anymore. It's…it's my fault, Al."

Seeing Steve's distress, Almun folded his hands upon the table, struggling to find a proper response to what the miner had admitted to him.

Eventually, Almun lowered his head, giving a lazy nod as he closed his eyes briefly.

"Man, you can't catch a break with Herobrine, huh?" Almun chuckled lowly, opening his eyes to meet the other's gaze.

Steve found a glimpse of repressed anger in Almun's eyes, making him feel somewhat concerned. In an attempt to prevent a possible outburst from the other (though Almun wasn't prone to those), Steve let out a small laugh in response.

"Y-yeah, it's always...you never know what's gonna happen with him, ha…" Steve said nervously, folding his arms in front of him on the table before moving his right hand to scratch his head for a brief moment.

Silence filled the space between them, immediately making Steve rather uncomfortable as he simply wanted to move on.

"Uh…speaking of Herobrine, today, something else came up too. I…I finally know why we look alike."

Almun raised a brow at him, his anger briefly fading away.

"...Why, then?"

Steve looked away, expression somewhat worried.

"...He's my brother. He's my twin brother."

Though he at first hesitated to look Almun in the eyes, looking up to see the other's expression led Steve to find widened eyes. He didn't know what Almun was thinking, all he saw in the other's eyes was surprise.

It took a minute or so before Almun finally broke the silence.

"...Herobrine. Herobrine's your twin brother."

Hearing Almun emphasize things brought a sense of disgust to him, but nevertheless, Steve nodded.

"...Y-yeah."

Silence filled the room for a few seconds.

"...Like, fraternal, or...identical?"

"Identical, Al." Steve clarified quietly.

The silence briefly returned.

"...So what you're saying is that when I look at you..." Almun leaned forward, pointing at him. "...I'm looking at him. Is that correct?"

Steve let out a slightly frustrated sigh.

"Al, yes."

Almun leaned back in his chair, looking at Steve for a few more seconds before closing his eyes, letting out a tense sigh.

"...Him? Really?"

"Al, yes! I already told you!"

Almun opened his eyes, staring intently at the table in front of him. As Steve was left in silence, he began to panic slightly.

"My...our older...sibling? Creator? Relative? Whatever, he came to us, gave us some info relating to our current mission, and added that little tidbit in at the end as a treat."

Almun's gaze remained steady. Steve only grew tenser.

"He…he said that we were made for this weird experiment that had to do with humans and perfection and whatever, and were separated our whole lives because of it."

"...Really."

Steve nodded, though he wasn't sure if Almun noticed.

"I...I-I didn't believe it at first, but...Al, this...it means I'm...I'm not human."

Almun glanced up toward him.

"...You seem pretty human to me."

"...I can't die, Al, apparently. Not easily, anyway."

"...Wait, so you're immortal, and you're related to Herobrine?"

Steve let out a frustrated groan and buried his head within his arms on the table, earning a laugh from Almun in response. Once the blacksmith calmed down, he looked at the miner with calm eyes.

"...Huh. Small world, isn't it?"

Steve looked up abruptly at Almun, totally bewildered by his response.

"You…you're not shocked?"

Almun shrugged.

"I've heard weirder, to be quite honest with you."

"Al, I'm not human. That's kind of beyond weird, don't you think?!"

Almun nodded his head with a small laugh.

"...Of course it's weird, but again, I seen weirder. Remember, I come from a group of people who were banished to the ends of the earth for our knowledge of magic. It's not hard to understand that." Almun paused, his expression growing a bit saddened. "...You were torn and kept from your family for the purpose of a sick experiment. That's the part I'm troubled with."

Steve's gaze fell.

"...I wish it would've been that way forever, at this point."

"...Yeah, but if you didn't find out about the truth now, you would've had one hell of a time trying to figure out why you outlived the village after we all died while you stayed the same."

Narrowing his gaze slightly, Steve nodded his head in agreement. However, his eyes soon widened again in realization that quickly shifted into horror.

"Oh goodness, you're right, I...I-I'm going to outlive you guys...I'm going to outlive you all." Steve said, his tone growing somewhat panicked as he brought his hands up to his head, clutching his hair.

With a sigh, Almun held up a hand.

"To be fair, Steve, you were already going to outlive me, and I think we knew that. I got like, twenty-something years on you."

"Al, I'm still gonna be here after all of you guys die!"

"Steve, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Let's uh...switch things up. Get back on track." Almun said, gesturing for Steve to sit back down again. "Like I said earlier, this...it really is a small world out there."

"...What do you mean by that?... " Steve asked quietly, still not yet recovered from his realization.

"...Remember when I said that people back in my old village wanted someone to deal with him? Your...brother, apparently? Well, my brother wanted to be that person. Didn't work out, but...he tried his best." Almun paused, letting out a silent sigh as he was briefly captivated by his memories. "...Part of the reason why I left Tealstone was because of how those idiots treated him despite everything he tried to do for them."

"...How bad was it? How badly did they treat him?" Steve asked cautiously.

The blacksmith hesitated to speak further, but as he continued, his voice lowered slightly.

"...He was murdered in cold blood."

Steve took in the other's words, watching his expression fill up further with added grief as his own heart fell in response,

"Al...I'm so sorry…" He spoke up quietly, moving to lean slightly over the table in order to place a hand near the other for support. Almun took his offer for a small moment, outstretching his hand as Steve went to hold it gently.

Squeezing the other's palm briefly, Almun let out a small chuckle, much to Steve's brief confusion.

"...It's been years, but...thinking about the day I got the news never gets any easier. They...our village treated him so badly that they didn't even remember where they left him. I didn't even get the chance to bury his body." Almun paused, thinking to himself before letting out a troubled sigh, lowering his forehand to rest upon their connected hands. "...He got killed because he was suspected of finding your brother. Talking with him, too. They didn't like it."

As Almun finished, a growing sense of intrigue and realization came upon him. Something about the other's story clicked within his brain.

Curiously, Steve glanced up to Almun.

"...What…I'm sorry I have to ask, but…what was that brother's name, again?"

Almun glanced back at him.

"...I never told you, I think. Going over those memories really brings me back to a dark place."

"...You don't have to sa-"

"-His name was Malgun. Named after our grandfather, actually. I…" Almun trailed off.

Steve's eyes widened in shock.

"I know him." He said abruptly, earning the other's confusion.

"Steve, I just said that he was murdered. He's dead."

"Al, I know him. I've met him. He's-"

Seeing the look of shock and disgust in Almun's eyes, Steve froze.

He suddenly became aware of how truly insensitive he was being in discussing the other's deceased sibling.

"...I…S-sorry." Steve said meekly.

Tense silence formed in-between them, leaving Steve feeling rather cruddy about the situation.

He was just having all sorts of bad luck when it came to talking with others, was he? At this rate, the only person that he'd be able to speak with would be Squash if he wasn't careful from this point on.

As Steve tried to brainstorm different ways to save his friendship with Almun, he found himself locked within a deep state of focus before the sound of a single snap came to his ears, leading him to find Almun's hand right in front of him. Looking up, Steve found Almun's eyes filled with not disgust, but deep intrigue.

It took a while for the blacksmith to speak up.

"...How do you know him?" Al asked quietly, leaning back into his seat.

Thankful that he hadn't fully offended the other into silence, Steve hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted immediately by Almun.

"Don't tell me that it has anything to do with Herobrine, I swear."

Steve let out a small sigh, relaxing his tense body momentarily.

"...He's dead. He's also...alive? Kinda? Sorta?"

Seeing the confusion in Almun's gaze, Steve shook his head as he brought a hand to his face, trying to collect his thoughts coherently before continuing on.

"He…okay, let me explain this as best I can. Basically, he's a skeleton. He still has some skin on him, but...he's a skeleton."

Almun nodded in response, prompting him to continue with a small wave of the hand.

"...He got revived by whatever usually gets the zombies and skeletons up and going. However, uh…this is where you might get a biiiit upset." Steve said with a nervous chuckle, pinching his fingers to punctuate his point. "...When he woke up, Herobrine found him again. Uh, after seeing him the first couple of times, I think."

Almun stared at him silently, slowly lowering his head as he looked down at the table gradually.

"...So…the villagers were right about him meeting with him?"

Steve nodded his head solemnly.

"...Malgun only came back to Herobrine after he died because he still wanted to fight and kill him for...honor, I guess? That's what he told me, anyway."

Almun quickly looked up at the miner.

"...He told you this himself?" He asked in disbelief.

Steve shrugged.

"Of course. Who else?" Steve paused, briefly messing around with his hands a bit. "...He's talked about you before, so I'm pretty sure he's…uh, the same Malgun."

"...Right." Almun lowered his gaze once again.

Steve continued.

"...Herobrine was impressed by his dedication. Enough to offer him leadership over the skeletons and to make him one of his minions. I've…I've been traveling with him."

"...My brother is the leader of the skeletons?" Almun looked back up at Steve.

Steve nodded.

"...Yup."

"...Huh." Almun muttered, casting his gaze back down to the mug in front of him.

The blacksmith thought to himself for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"...Mal's still kickin', huh?"

Steve nodded his head again with a small smile.

"...He's pretty cool, actually." He paused, a look of curiosity slowly crawling onto his face as his smile fell. "...I'm kinda curious why he didn't ever say he was your brother, though. It sure seems like he misses you enough."

Almun shrugged, moving to drink out of his mug.

"...Knowing him, it's probably because he feels bad about not listening to me when I told him to stop chasing after your brother."

"Herobrine." Steve said firmly.

"That's what I said." Almun raised a brow at him.

Steve let out a hum, taking a small sip from his own mug as he looked off to the side. Almun continued speaking.

"...Y'know, I hated how he always wanted to take it upon himself to try and cleanse the family name. Hundreds and hundreds of years of damage weren't exactly going to be fixed up overnight by some eager twenty-something-year-old with a half-thought-out plan."

"...He's in his twenties?" Steve asked in shock.

Almun shook his head.

"Nah. He was when he started his search for Herobrine. Still, when it comes to someone like him, there's a good chance that he got scared about possibly ruining our image further, so he's been trying to distance himself from me. Maybe that's why he never said anything." Almun paused, shaking his head as he closed his eyes. "...I wish I could just tell him that it's not even remotely necessary to go through that kind of trouble."

Seeing a look of sadness in the other's gaze, Steve felt his own heart fill with grief as Almun looked away again, distressed by the thought of his brother separating himself from him. Though his expression stayed rather muted, it was clear that he was being affected deeper down than what he was willing to vocally admit.

He sure was getting quite the experience with connecting long-separated siblings together, wasn't he?

"...I...You know what?" Steve narrowed his gaze a bit in determination, standing up as he spoke. "...Come with me."

Confused, Almun raised a brow at him.

"...What?"

Steve moved around the side of the table, outstretching a hand to him.

"I said come with me."

"...Mind telling me where we're going?"

"My place. C'mon, it won't take that long." Steve moved to grab Almun's wrist, gently pulling him up.

He was met with some brief resistance as Almun stood in place, refusing to come along.

"...You're bringing me to him, aren't you?"

Steve hesitantly responded with a nod.

"...If you wanna see him."

Almun thought to himself in silence for a moment, leaving the other waiting patiently for his response.

"...If…if Mal's how you say he is…being a skeleton and all…" Almun started quietly, looking away from the miner. "...I don't want to see him like that, if you mind. I want my last memory of him to be what he once was. I don't want to see his corpse."

Steve stared at the other quietly, taking in his words carefully before slowly letting the other's arm go.

"...S…sorry."

As Almun watched him pull away, the blacksmith let out a small sigh.

"...Can you do something for me, though?"

Curious, Steve glanced back up at the other.

"...W-what? What do you want me to do?"

"...I want to believe without a shadow of a doubt that my brother's still kicking. I...I believe you, but I don't believe you, if that makes any sense." Almun started. "...If I remember correctly, Mal used to carry around one of our family's special pendants with him wherever he went. For luck. If…if it's truly Malgun that you met…would you mind showing me that pendant?"

Steve thought about the other's request carefully.

Who's to say that after all this time, that pendant was still on the skeleton's body? There was a good chance that it might've gotten lost somehow, but then again, he didn't really remember ever getting the chance to fully examine Malgun's personal accessories all that much in detail.

If it was for Almun, he'd check a thousand times.

With a nod, Steve gave the blacksmith a small smile.

"I'll ask him if he still has it, alright? I'll be back in a few minutes. Hopefully."

As Steve went to go carry out the other's request, the sound of snapping fingers came to his ears. Before he could even reach the front door, his attention was called back to Almun as the blacksmith cleared his throat and pointed back down at the miner's mug, seeing that it still had quite a bit of hot chocolate within it.

"Hey, what did we say about leaving before you were finished?" Almun scolded, leading Steve to roll his eyes and return to the table.

With a brief pause to brace himself, Steve grabbed his mug, raised it to his lips, and drank the rest of the hot chocolate there, letting out a small gasp as he finished. It was still a bit hot. His throat and tongue slightly pulsed with the pains of heat as Almun gave him a small laugh, patting him on the shoulder.

"Y'know, we could've taken our time with that."

Steve shook his head, placing the mug back down as he turned around to leave once again.

"Didn't want to, if I had to stay a few more minutes here, sitting still, I would've gone crazy."

Almun shrugged at him, allowing the miner to freely pull away from the table.

"...At least it was good to take a break, yeah? You liked the hot chocolate?"

Steve nodded his head eagerly.

"Next time those cocoa beans come into town, you tell me, okay?" He asked, looking back at the blacksmith.

Almun let out a small laugh.

"Sure, sure. I'll tell you when the good stuff gets restocked."

Without any more resistance, Steve went back outside, finding himself a bit nervous as he set out to meet with the exact group of people he wasn't planning on coming back to at the moment.


Dragging himself through the dark, quiet forest with only a few working lanterns along the way to guide him was hard enough, but when Steve finally reached his front door, he found himself hesitating as he reached for the handle.

What if Herobrine was in his house right now? What would he do if he was forced to confront the problem that he'd been trying to distract himself from in the next few minutes?

Eyes full of worry, Steve glanced back to the village behind him before turning his gaze hesitantly back toward his front door, taking a deep breath in before moving to grab the door handle and turn it open.

As Steve opened the door, he peeked in carefully, trying to see if anyone truly was within the dark room ahead. Sure enough, as he spotted the edge of a green cloak, Steve briefly turned back to the lake in front of his house before turning back around to walk into the room, closing the door behind him.

To his general relief, he found only Constiere, Andvari, and Malgun within the room. Herobrine was nowhere to be seen or felt. As Steve approached the three, they finally noticed his presence, leading to Constiere approaching him briskly.

"Hey, bright-eyes, what's going on? Where's Lord Herobrine?" He asked, drawing a slight grimace from Steve at the mention of the other's name.

"I...uh, he's...around." Steve stammered, remembering that he was currently in a situation that he had wanted to firmly avoid.

Constiere raised a brow at him, examining his nervousness a bit closer.

"...Something happened, didn't it?"

Seeing that there was no use in keeping his emotions hidden, Steve let out a small, defeated sigh, letting his shoulders fall briefly.

"Yeah, but…that's not important right now." Steve waved him off, looking back toward Malgun, who was currently sitting on his couch, adjusting the string of his bow. "Sir, there's uh...something I want to talk to you about."

Malgun looked at him with as much curiosity as he could manage.

"...What?"

Steve gestured for him to follow.

"I...I need you outside for a minute. Just you, alright?"

With concerned, yet curious looks from both Constiere and Andvari, Malgun slowly got up, moving to follow after Steve as he began to lead the skeleton outside.

Once the two were alone in the cold winter chill, Steve took a deep breath as he braced himself for any sort of adverse reaction from the other.

"Alright…" He breathed out, looking directly into the other's eye. "...Please don't be mad."

"...Why?" Malgun asked cautiously.

"...I was pulled into Almun's house. I told him some things, and…he knows you're…alive…ish." He explained quietly.

The skeleton stared blankly at him, seemingly having some trouble with fully processing his words.

"...Steve, what did you sa-"

"-Nothing bad happened! Nothing bad. Just…look, he wants confirmation that you're still around, so…he asked for the family pendant." Steve explained further.

Silence followed his request as Malgun's gaze fell.

"...So you know that-"

"-Yes. He said it. I said I knew you. Now we're here." Steve interrupted firmly.

"...W…why did you tell him that I was-"

"-Because he told me that you two were brothers, that's why!" Steve exclaimed, covering his mouth as he recognized his own volume before glancing around. Quietly, he continued. "...Sir, you shouldn't avoid him if he's-"

"-Do you know how the things I've done will reflect on him?" Malgun asked, a bit of anger in his tone. "...I don't consider myself his brother anymore. For his own safety, I've removed myself from our family because I didn't want him to face the repercussions of my actions."

"I don't think that matters to him, Malgun." Steve stated firmly, frustration coming to his face soon after. "...Gosh, what is with you people and doing stupid stuff for the sake of avoiding your older siblings? Would it kill you guys to just ask for forgiveness before assuming what they'll say?"

"...What do you mean by...that?" Malgun asked quietly.

Steve let out a frustrated sigh, bringing a hand up to his face.

"Long story short, a certain relative of Brine's showed up, and he had the same line of thought. I pushed them to meet with each other, and that's that." Steve explained, deliberately cutting himself off before he could truly finish his story.

Malgun stared at him with surprise.

"...He…his brother-"

"-Yes, but that's not important. What's important is that Almun gets the confirmation he needs to know that you're alive-ish!"

Malgun thought to himself for a moment, raising a hand up to the edge of his cloak hood.

"...What you need is our family pendant, yes?"

Steve nodded.

"...You still have it, right?"

Slowly but surely, Malgun rose a hand up underneath his cloak and pulled a small chain from around his neck until he fully lifted it up to reveal a small jewel, one that was slightly covered in dirt (or what he desperately hoped was dirt). Carefully, he removed the pendant from around his neck, holding it in front of Steve before the miner offered a palm to gently place it in.

As Malgun handed it over, he watched the small jewel leave his hand.

"...He didn't ask to see me?"

Steve glanced off to the side, his expression somewhat falling.

"...He didn't want to see you as a dead body. Wanted to remember you as he saw you."

"...Frankly, if it were me in his shoes and him in mine, I'd do the same." The skeleton stated with a small shrug.

Looking at the somewhat muddied blue jewel for a second, Steve glanced back up to Malgun to give him an appreciative expression.

"...Thanks, sir. I'll bring this back as soon as I can."

"...Leave it with him."

As Steve turned away from the other, he paused in disbelief. With a raised brow, he looked back to the skeleton.

"...Huh?"

"...Have him keep it safe for me. I think that its luck has worn out a bit since I ended up like this. Maybe he can polish it up, or something." Malgun said, briefly gesturing to himself as Steve gave him a small chuckle.

"I'll put in the request for a repair, too. I think he'll appreciate the gift, Mal. Sir." Steve corrected himself, earning a laugh from the skeleton in response.

"...Tell me how he reacts, alright?"

"I will!" Steve promised, turning again to briskly walk away from the other back into the forest.

...

That wasn't as difficult as he thought it'd be.


Not too long after his quick meeting, Steve found himself back at Almun's house once again.

Stepping into the other's house with the skeleton's pendant in his hand, Steve found Almun at the table, occupying himself with more hot chocolate as he sat in silence. Briefly, the miner caught a glimpse of the other mug in front of him, noticing that it was refilled, as well. As he walked in, Almun's eyes looked up to find him, bringing a small smile to his lips as he lowered his mug and gestured to the seat in front of him.

"...Find anything?" He asked.

Closing the door behind him softly, Steve quickly made his way over to the table, sitting down in the offered chair before unfolding his hand to show the other the pendant.

The second he did so, Almun's smile fell as his eyes soon became overwhelmed with emotion.

Curiously, Steve tilted his hand more toward the other.

"...This is it, right?" He felt a bit foolish asking the question, but he wanted to make sure that Malgun had given him the correct object.

Almun took a few seconds to examine the object before nodding his head slowly.

"...Yeah, that's it, alright."

The blacksmith reached out to grab the pendant, hesitating slightly as his hand hovered above Steve's before making up his mind to take the jewel from him. Holding the item carefully as if it would break if he even remotely breathed on it, Almun brought it closer to his body, eyes focusing firmly on it.

"...That's him…that's really, really him." Almun muttered quietly, using his thumb to rub the pendant gently.

Seeing how emotional the other was getting, Steve found it hard to keep himself from going around and hugging the other, but out of respect, he remained seated. When Almun tried to reluctantly offer the pendant back to him, Steve held up a hand, shaking his head with a small smile.

"Malgun said that…well, it's yours, now. He said that you can fix it up and keep it safe for him…he kinda doesn't need it anymore."

"...Aren't you still traveling with him, though? I'd imagine you'd need some luck for that, since Herobrine's with you, and all."

Steve shook his head.

"I'm still with him, but he insisted on having you keep this close to you." Steve pointed at the pendant. "...Wanted you to restore the 'luck,' I think."

With a nod, Almun closed his hand around the jewel momentarily, closing his eyes as he focused only on the feeling of the object. Before long, his eyes opened once again.

"...What has he done since that luck ran out?" Almun asked quietly.

Steve shrugged.

"All I know is that he and the others have been hunting humans pretty frequently. It's uh...what Herobrine told them to do."

Nodding solemnly, Almun opened his hand once again.

"...Figures."

Silence followed his words for a minute or two before a sigh escaped the blacksmith's lips.

"...Hey, Steve." Almun said quietly.

"...Yeah?"

Almun took a moment to think to himself before deciding to continue, rolling around the pendant in his hand.

"...Before you leave, let me give you some instructions for...you-know-what."

Briefly confused on what the other meant, Steve's eyes soon widened in realization.

"Wait Al, you don't mean-"

"-'s a family secret, so don't be going around showing it to everybody else. I want you to end this whole destruction-of-the-world nonsense and get back home as soon as possible."

"...But…I thought that you…you didn't want to give the info to me?..." Steve asked quietly in shock, earning a quick laugh from Almun.

"...You did this for me." Almun responded, gesturing to Malgun's pendant. "...You brought my brother back to me…well, the confirmation of his existence, actually. The very least I can do is to make sure that the family I got back and the family I have now is able to live in a safe world."

It took a moment for the other's words to firmly sink in as he lowered his head to think carefully about them, but once they did, a sense of excitement rose up within Steve.

He did it. He'd found someone that would give him information about the portals. Once Almun gave him the information they need, they'd be one step closer to saving the world.

Steve looked back up to thank Almun excitedly, though, he found himself stopping entirely as he looked upon the blacksmith as his focus was lovingly placed upon the pendant in his hand.

Almun was smiling. Even after he became aware of what his brother had done and what he was currently doing, he was still smiling.

Steve blinked at the sight before him, soon after averting his gaze to the ground as a sense of guilt had begun to slowly creep upon him.

Regardless of what Malgun had admitted to doing, Almun was still fully willing to accept his sins and celebrate his revived life. Regardless of the creature he became, Almun still loved him. They were still brothers. Still siblings.

Mo and Herobrine had been the same.

...

Regardless of how Herobrine had initially treated him, he at least tried to heal his wounds and protect him. Regardless of how he initially wanted their partnership to play out, Herobrine still tried to talk with him, to learn about him, and frankly, it was rather obvious that he valued Steve's input at least a small amount. He'd been worrying about being associated with a Herobrine that had been falling away, not the one that showed him kindness and consideration now.

He became so occupied with the bad things that the demigod had done that he forgot entirely what else Herobrine had done in the meantime to make up for it. He was fully willing to abandon the other at the drop of a hat because of how shocked he became at the revelation of their familial bond; an action that Herobrine was no stranger to.

Looking back at what happened earlier in the forest, Steve let out a small sigh as regret soon joined eagerly with his guilt.

He should've stayed with Herobrine to figure things out. He should've pushed back, and helped the other come to terms with their brotherhood. He shouldn't have said that he wished he'd never met the other at all, even if those words were only heard by Almun's ears. It wasn't even true. In all actuality, he was rather glad he met the other, if not only for the guidance and safety that he offered to him.

He had to reconsider how he'd approach Herobrine from now on. Even if Herobrine didn't want to be his sibling, he'd try his best to make it known that he wanted to at least try to be his.


Sorry for another delay folks, I had midterms and a non-functioning brain this week lol. Lmao I swear we'll be moving forward sometime soon, I've been wanting to work on these chapters for a while, I wanna make sure that I'm doing it right XD

One favor leads to another, so Almun's gonna help Steve out even more! He was holding back a lot of info for Steve's safety, knowing that he'd go and investigate things if he was too intrigued, but he's becoming more lenient, lol. Again, I had been planning on merging this chapter with the previous one, but for obvious reasons (length and update time, both chapters ended up being 11k words T_T) I had to firmly split it! Glad I did tho, cuz I ended up changing a couple of scenes anyways from the original draft of this half into something I liked WAY better!

Fun facts!:

1.) Even though Almun is a descendant of the Illagers, he's been spared the typical gray complexion due to the fact that he doesn't really dabble all that much in magic, lol. He's more of a Lorekeeper, than anything.

2.) Almun is like, eight years older than Malgun is.

3.) All Al's ever mentioned about his brother to Steve before now was the simple fact that he even had one, lol. He doesn't like thinking about everything that happened in his past, and he didn't want Steve to draw any conclusions about him.

4.) The "couple of wars" line from early on in the fic was in relation to a couple of Illager wars that Almun was a part of, lol.

5.) Almun sees Steve as the younger brother he lost. Kinda the reason why he's been so terrified for him. The info about the portal wasn't given earlier in this chapter not because Al really didn't trust Steve, it was because he knew that if he gave it to Steve, there was a good chance that he'd never see the miner again. Now that he knows that the other is practically immortal (giving him extra protection), he's more willing to share that information.

6.) Yes, technically speaking, Herobrine, Steve, Almun, and Malgun all incidentally switched siblings, lol.

That's it for now y'all, leave a review if you have any thoughts!