Chapter 50: Herobrine, Failed Prince


He'd walked away from the situation briefly in order to assist with the search for any hidden villages that weren't drawn on the map, but found himself coming back not too long after. Being alone gave his thoughts the opportunity to overwhelm him, but being with Herobrine currently fueled the anxiety that created them.

There was nothing more concerning to Steve than the fact that Herobrine wanted to spar with him at night, at a time when it would be better for them to move forward and do what they could in order to find an End portal and get things done. Nothing, of course, except for the fact that he could sense Herobrine's influence creeping upon him, the subtle sense of dread mixing with a new, more sharp feeling that made it somewhat difficult for him to ease his nerves and prevent his hands from shaking. Using his sword against his brother would already be difficult enough, but with the growing sense of instability coming from the other, he could feel his hands becoming weaker by the second. Despite this, one of his hands had subconsciously made its way onto the handle of his sword, though he was unsure of whether or not he'd actually be able to manage himself with it at the moment. He wanted to speak with the other, but who's to say that he wouldn't get hurt in the process?

When night finally came, it wasn't as dark as they'd been expecting. The moon was full, bringing with it a blanket of soft light that illuminated the area well enough. Though they'd gone pretty far out from Highland village, Steve found himself a bit worried about the possibility that someone, somehow, would hear or see them as they sparred together. He didn't want to fight Herobrine, let alone get caught fighting with him, in any case. To both his relief and dismay, he found himself alone with the other soon enough, bringing his nerves more on edge as he realized that their match was fast approaching.

He wished that the mob generals were at least somewhere nearby to help him with Herobrine. If Constiere was there to distract the man, if Malgun was there to bring reason, or if Andvari was there to encourage Herobrine to be more compassionate, then maybe he wouldn't exactly be fearing a harsh reset from the other. All of his hopes were dashed when he was finally able to understand what Herobrine was trying to tell the surrounding mobs with his influence.

Do not interrupt.

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Maybe he could've simply accepted things for how they were, and said nothing further on the issue. Maybe he could've just ignored his own emotions.

Herobrine needed to explain himself, and he personally couldn't just push aside all that his brother had done and had admitted to doing. Despite how afraid he was, this was something he needed to address. This was something they needed to talk about before they could ever have a chance of moving forward. Though he wished he didn't have to spar while doing it, if it's what got Herobrine to open up more, he'd do it.

He found himself waiting for the other to take care of business before they could do any sort of sparring whatsoever. After allowing a single report to come in from one of Constiere's creepers (apparently stating that they hadn't found anything major yet apart from more signs of what seemed to be a non-reported village), Herobrine instructed them to keep moving, as well as to pass on a message to any silverfish to come to him as soon as possible if they were spotted (though he did call them personally as well). As Herobrine continued to silently warn any surrounding creatures to keep their distance, Steve tried to silently think up a strategy on how to survive their next session, hoping that he wouldn't actually have to fight back that intensely.

Herobrine changed strategies depending on his mood and how much he wanted to test his abilities. Since Herobrine might've been upset by him suggesting to take a solid look at building their sibling relationship from the ground up, should he expect the other to attack him relentlessly? Would he be softer in an attempt to actually try to connect with him? Would he simply not care at all, going at the same pace he had been going recently? What could he expect to have to counter?

If there was one thing he knew about his brother, it was that there was a good reason why no one had been able to get rid of him. No one ever knew what to expect from him, family included.

Eventually, the silent warning ceased. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Herobrine finally drew his sword and pointed it toward Steve, gathering his frightful gaze as he realized that the other was ready.

"This lesson will be quite the educational one. I'm assuming you haven't had the chance to train on your own in recent days."

Steve shook his head at the other's firm words.

"...Nope."

"...I feel sorry for you." Herobrine said with a sigh, causing Steve to look at the other with surprise in his eyes as his shoulders visibly relaxed.

Was...was Herobrine making fun of the situation? Was he acting light? Was he not as upset as he had initially suspected?

Taking his own sword out with uncertainty, Steve raised it a bit in silent acceptance of the other's challenge.

Metal clashed against metal as Herobrine and Steve trained together. Though Steve was keeping up with the other rather efficiently, there were a few more close calls than what he'd like to admit. His swings were light, but not exactly threatening enough to convince Herobrine that he was fully willing to duel him.

Another flimsy swing, and Herobrine became visibly tired by his attempts to match his abilities.

"Too weak. When your opponent is a god, the best you can do in order to turn the fight in your favor is to make them afraid of you. If you want your opponent to fear you, you have to swing more outwards so that they know that you mean it."

Herobrine's words processed through Steve's brain, though not all of them had settled when he found himself taking on an oncoming swing that went directly past his chest armour.

It was a sharp cut. Not deep, but not light enough to avoid his detection. Despite the other's sword being made of iron, the force behind it was enough to break through some of the leather attached to his armour and nick him in the side.

"Ow!" Without dropping his sword, Steve used his other hand to clench the wound momentarily, pulling his hand back to find a bit of blood beginning to drip down.

Herobrine sighed.

"If you want to survive an actual battle, you'll have to learn how to deal with minor wounds like this. Minor."

Steve looked back at him.

"But can't I just avoid the wounds in the first place? What if you swung any harder?!"

"You'd be fine, you're also a divine, remember? I'm not looking to seriously harm you, I just want you to know what you're getting into."

"You might seriously harm me!"

"I won't."

Knowing fully well why Herobrine had challenged him to a training session, Steve let out a slightly upset hum at him as he went back to clutching his wound.

"...Couldn't you have led with the fact that you wanted to talk?" Steve asked while stepping away, earning a genuine look of surprise to appear in Herobrine's gaze as he continued to swing at the miner.

"...I wanted to see how much your abilities have stagnated since our last session. Talking wasn't my priority." Herobrine responded matter-of-factly.

Steve let out a scoff.

"Brine, do you know that I can see your eyes? Your real ones? Everything I need to know is clear as day there."

Seeing further surprise appear in the other's expression, he found himself amused by Herobrine briefly looking away before returning to face him with a steady glare.

"Are you sure you aren't seeing things?"

Steve let out a frustrated sigh as he let go of his wound again and met the other's blade with his own, noticing that Herobrine's swings were noticeably less heavy than they were mere seconds ago.

"...Can I ask you something?"

The miner's suddenly serious tone caused a brief look of concern to appear in Herobrine's eyes, though, the man kept his composure and pacing as he answered Steve quietly.

"...Go ahead."

Steve took a moment to think to himself before the words finally left his lips.

"...I need you to be honest with me. If we're brothers, and if we're going to be brothers fully, that's the one thing we need to have. Can I trust you to be honest with me?"

Herobrine left him in solid silence for a few seconds before a quiet hum left his lips.

"...As honest as I can be, within reason."

Seeing as the other's answer was the best he could possibly get from him, Steve pressed on, pausing his attacks as he stepped away from the sparring match.

"...I don't want to rush you into explaining things, but I genuinely need to know this...Do you, in any way whatsoever, feel bad about what you did? What've you've done to all those people back in the village? What...what you've done to every human you've faced in your life and…well, dealt with?"

Herobrine left him in further silence for a while as he too stopped attacking, looking down at the ground blankly before closing his eyes and slowly shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but as he did so, no words came out. Instead of immediately trying to speak again, he turned away from the miner, leaving Steve in genuine shock as he just left his back exposed so easily despite them still technically being in a match.

"...I hate to admit that I can't fully face you and tell you this, but...the unfortunate answer to your question is no." Herobrine admitted quietly.

Feeling his heart drop at the answer, Steve stepped forward a bit, though Herobrine's back remained turned toward him.

"...Why? Why can't you look at me and tell me that?"

He watched as Herobrine's posture remained firm.

"...You wouldn't like what you'd see on my face. What you find to be a horrible occurrence is something I find joy in, for the most part. If we're going to be honest with each other, that honesty will only make your image of me even worse." Herobrine glanced upward. "...On why I feel no remorse...it's a different subject entirely. One I find myself growing ill to even think about."

Steve glared at the other, his grip on his sword tightening.

"...So that's it? You kill people, you don't feel bad about it, and if you think about why you do it, you get sick, so you just keep doing it without thinking twice?"

"Yes."

"You don't feel bad about all the families you've torn apart? All the grief you've caused?"

Herobrine shook his head.

"It's near-impossible for me to do so." He said with an eerily calm voice.

Pulling back as he found himself overcome with pure disgust, Steve turned his back toward the other.

"...You'd think that someone who knows how it feels to be separated from his family would be more considerate about inflicting the same thing on others."

Herobrine visibly flinched at his biting words, though Steve couldn't see him do so.

"...Why should I be?"

A frustrated sigh left Steve's mouth as he lowered his head.

"Can you explain to me why you're like this? Why you're being terrible right now?"

"Why do you need any further explanation, exactly? I'm being my honest self, you know."

Steve shrugged.

"All I know is that my brother kills people, and doesn't feel bad about it. The least you could do is tell me why."

"...That would require me to tell you more about myself, and I don't know how I feel about that considering you didn't like me doing that so soon." Herobrine said quietly.

Realizing that Herobrine was using his own words against him, Steve decided to continue trying to get the other to crack before the conversation turned for the worst.

"Well, figure it out. What did humans ever to do you? What did anybody ever do to you?"

"Much, much more than what they ever should've. Not just them, too."

Realizing how poorly thought-out his question had been, Steve felt a bit guilty as the other had responded to him in such a harsher tone. He turned to face the other, but found that his back was still turned toward him.

"...I'm sorry...I know the divines messed you up pretty bad too. I…uh, figured that out."

"...How." Herobrine asked, his voice a bit unstable.

"...Anion. Mo. You."

Seeing Herobrine's shoulders tense up at his answer, Steve braced himself for a harsher response. Instead, Herobrine's voice grew quiet again and, surprisingly, rather weak.

"...You wouldn't have seen much if it weren't for Anion."

"...Still. They messed you up, but…you're more aggressive toward humans than the divines. Why?"

Herobrine almost turned back fully to glare at him, stopping himself halfway before turning back to face away from him.

"Because humans are easier to get rid of. I can kill a human in a matter of seconds. I'd need to get my hands on a blessed weapon if I wanted to do the same with the divines."

Feeling even more upset by the other's words, Steve continued to interrogate him.

"Why kill? Why not just…I dunno, ignore them? Maybe just knock them out?"

A small laugh escaped Herobrine's lips.

"...Honestly speaking, my dear brother, holding someone's life within the palm of your hands and crushing it to pieces brings more of a thrill than anything you could ever imagine."

Steve's heart sank at the other's words again, leading to him attempting to back himself a bit further away from the other, only to stop as something clicked within his mind.

There was something about Herobrine's words that didn't make much sense based on what he'd heard from him before. Mentioning Anion led him back to the image of his brother that he witnessed that day; the one that revealed a truth that conflicted with his words right now.

"...No it doesn't." Steve rebutted quietly, drawing a small chuckle from Herobrine that didn't seem all too real.

"Yes it does. What, you think I'm lying?"

"...Yeah, actually. I remember you saying something about not wanting to be in control of other people's lives." Steve said, narrowing his gaze in suspicion.

Herobrine flinched at his words, leading Steve to become certain of the fact that yes, his brother was lying. Exasperated, Steve glared at the other with tired eyes.

"...Are you trying to get me to hate you, again?"

Herobrine didn't respond to his question.

"...You're purposefully trying to mess with me, aren't you? You don't really mean what you're saying, do you?"

More silence passed before Herobrine spoke to him with a somewhat quieter voice.

"...I'm being perfectly honest with you."

Annoyed with his brother's sudden change in demeanor, Steve stepped closer in order to force Herobrine to meet him head-on.

"...Then turn around."

Herobrine let out a confused hum as Steve formed a determined expression on his face.

"If you're serious, and you truly feel this way about humans, then I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that."

"...Again, Steven, you wouldn't like what you-"

"-Is that any better than listening to you say those horrible things? Are you worried about my feelings, or are you worried about yourself? Are you too scared to look me in the eyes and tell me that you like this?"

A quick, exasperated breath left Herobrine's mouth before he abruptly turned around, locking gazes with Steve as he braced himself for a reaction.

"I enjoy killing humans. I get a rush whenever I do it; when I have the full power to use my abilities without consequence and eliminate the lives of those animals. Every drop of blood spilled sends a rush of joy through my body that cannot be replaced by anything."

Though Herobrine's voice was firm, getting his point across without stuttering or faltering, Steve found himself unable to believe his words as he read the other's emotions through his eyes.

Herobrine's eyes were beyond shaky. It almost impressed Steve to find the other's voice being so strong when it was clear that what he was saying was hard enough to force out in place of what he was truly feeling. Even if there was some remote truth within Herobrine's exaggerated words, it wasn't the complete truth, leading to Steve giving the other a somewhat disappointed expression in return.

"...Why are you trying so hard to make me hate you? What's your deal, I thought we already went over this?"

Herobrine glanced down at the ground beneath them, leaving Steve to ponder his troubled expression before a sigh left his lips.

"...I...I don't know." Herobrine said quietly, though, Steve found no truth in his words whatsoever.

"...You know. That's why you're doing it." Steve said, moving to poke Herobrine in the shoulder, though the other flinched immediately at his touch.

"...I truly don't," Herobrine said, moving his shoulder away from the miner.

"...Brine."

No response.

"...Hero."

Hearing the first half of his name caused Herobrine to slightly grimace, leading to Steve repeating it once again. As he heard it a second time, a troubled hum came from Herobrine's lips as he went to bury his head within his hands in response.

"...Please, for the love of everything in this divine-forsaken world, do not tell anyone about this."

Steve gave him a small nod.

"Wasn't planning on it, anyways. This is between you and me."

"...You said you knew me as Herobrine, the god of Imitation. King of the Mobs. That's who I am, so, I'm building upon that."

Steve took in the other's words for a moment before resuming his glare.

"Herobrine."

With eyes that widened slightly at the sound of his own name, Herobrine gave Steve another frustrated breath.

"...It's who I believe I am."

As Steve continued to stare at him, Herobrine began to lose his firm tone.

"...It's for the best, but...I want you to know about what was taken from you. I want us to be brothers. I don't want us to be brothers, for your sake. I want us to be close. I don't want us to be close."

Thinking about the other's contradictory words, Steve looked at Herobrine with concern.

"...Well, that's a bit confusing but...for starters, why don't you want us to be close?"

"...Because everyone I've ever gotten close with has faced terrible consequences for it. I wanted to stop it from happening again."

Steve looked at the other with surprise, a small feeling of sadness rising up within him as he listened to his brother finally begin to admit the truth to him, unable to pull away his gaze from the other.

"...And you wanted to do that by saying those horrible things to me? You want me to see you as a monster for that? Brine, are you serious?"

Herobrine slowly nodded.

"...It's easier that way, isn't it?"

Steve let out a sigh, throwing his sword to the ground as the other watched him silently. Crouching down, Steve gave the other a tired expression.

"I'm taking a break. I'm lying down. I think that cut you gave me is making me more irritated than I need to be."

He fell back onto the ground and laid his head against the grass.

"…Go ahead, then." Herobrine responded quietly, stepping slightly away from him.

Looking back up at the quiet sky, the miner relaxed his gaze, deep in thought. Before he could allow the tranquility of his surroundings to completely take him, he heard a small breath escape his brother's mouth as he broke the quietness.

"...I will join you."

Hearing Herobrine's footsteps move a bit further away from him, Steve glanced up to find the other slowly sitting down upon the ground as well, though, Steve found it interesting that Herobrine sat down with his back turned toward him, instead of simply joining him by his side.

"...Do that, I guess." Steve said with a shrug.

As the silence of the area around them grew deafening, Steve found himself nowhere near any closer to feeling comfortable again around his brother at the moment. Herobrine, as far as he knew, was a volatile person; calm one moment, and dangerous the next. The idea he had in mind for furthering their friendship was to essentially ruin it, after all. If Herobrine was at the point where he'd say anything to get him to dislike him, who's to say he wouldn't go back to physically harming him again should things go further south?

Focusing his eyes upon a dark, overhead cloud in the sky, Steve decided to break the silence.

"So…do you treat every member of your group like this, or am I a special case?"

"...Like what?"

"I haven't seen you act this bad with the others."

"...Bad like how?"

"Bad like, telling them things they hate to hear, like how you love to kill people, and doubling down on it."

Herobrine thought to himself for a moment before finally answering his question.

"...They've already faced the consequences of associating themselves with me. You haven't seen the full extent of what can happen, yet."

"What can happen? Do you want to tell me? Warn me, in any way?"

"...It's a heavy burden to bear, Steven."

Steve let out a frustrated sigh.

"Could you explain yourself better? You're being too vague and too…well, frankly, annoying."

Herobrine turned to glare at him.

"Again, that requires that I tell you some things that are rather personal to me."

Steve sat up and turned to face his brother.

"...How about we do an equal exchange, then?" Finding curiosity appearing in the other's expression, Steve continued. "...You tell me something about yourself, I tell you something about me. Fair enough, right?"

Herobrine stared at him for a moment before raising a brow.

"...For what reason? Why?"

Steve thought about his question for a solid few seconds before giving him a small shrug.

"...Just some stuff to let you know more about…well, me. Your younger, twin brother. And besides, I still wanna know why you hate humans so much, besides the vague implications."

Herobrine thought to himself about the offer, weighing his options carefully. Before long, he gave the other a small nod in response.

"...I'll...I'll accept that. To be quite honest, I'm rather curious about you too, still."

Steve smiled in response to the other's words before offering him a nod in return.

"Alright. That'll be pretty fair to the both of us, I think."

Herobrine gave him a small hum.

"And just like what you tell me, if you find it difficult to admit anything, you don't have to say it."

Giving another nod, Steve also smiled at him before abruptly clapping his hands together as he went to speak.

"First of all…tell me something about yourself. Something simple."

Herobrine raised a brow at him.

"...How simple?"

"...Things you like. Who you are. On a simple level, nothing too deep."

Herobrine thought quickly to himself for a moment, patting his hand against the ground rhythmically as he tried to think of something. Noticing that he was struggling a bit, Steve gave the other an encouraging smile.

"...Could be something we already know. Remember, this is just to get things started."

Herobrine paused his rhythmic tapping, looking up at Steve slowly.

"...I...I was born in the Aether. I lived there for eight, almost nine, years. I lived within Crystalia for a short while after that, then I left to roam the world." He said quietly.

Steve nodded at his words.

"Good! Well, uh…I too was born in the Aether I guess, but I got put in the Overworld. I lived in Crystalia until I was nine, then I left for the mainland, here!"

Herobrine thought to himself before looking at Steve with realization in his eyes.

"...When did you leave?"

Steve gave him a look of confusion at his words.

"I just said, I left at-"

"-No. I mean, how soon after you turned nine that you left Crystalia?"

As he thought to himself quietly for a moment, Steve's own gaze lit up in realization as he looked at Herobrine.

"Two months. Does that mean-"

"-We could've met earlier." Herobrine finished, his expression becoming a bit saddened.

Disbelief in his eyes, Steve let out a small laugh as he thought about the situation a bit more.

"Man! I should've done more exploring, I'm kinda interested to see what kid you looked like. Though…uh actually, I think I might already know what you looked like."

"...Terrible, that's what I looked like."

"...Hey." Steve said, slightly offended by the other's words.

Herobrine shrugged at his tone.

"I looked like a wreck when I came to Crystalia. I wasn't saying that both of us looked terrible, though, if the shoe fits…"

Steve gave the other a light glare before letting out a small amused hum.

"I looked perfectly fine. Still am."

"...Sure."

Deciding to brush off the other's words, somewhat glad that he was lightening up a bit, Steve decided to continue with the questions as he laid himself back upon the ground.

"What's your favorite color? Wait…lemme guess…" Steve grinned up at him. "Is it…black?"

Herobrine shook his head.

"...It's actually purple."

"...Oh."

Seeing Steve's slightly disappointed expression, Herobrine gave him a small shrug as he continued.

"...And also black."

"...Wait, but…what kind of purple? Pastel? Deep, dark purple, what?"

"...All kinds of purple."

Steve let out an amused chuckle.

"Bright colors too? For you? Color me shocked!"

Herobrine glared at him, unamused by his pun.

"...And I'm guessing that your favorite is blue. Such an unimaginative, bland color to call favorite."

Steve's expression fell as the other hit the nail right on the head.

"Hey! Blue is a good color! It's the color of the sky, the sea...pretty flowers, pretty things…It's a great color!"

Seeing Steve become genuinely upset, Herobrine seemed to show a bit of regret at his words as he turned away from the miner once again.

"...I apologize. It is a rather magnificent color."

Steve shrugged at him.

"...It's okay then. Sorry about what I said, too. Just didn't expect you to say purple, of all colors."

A bit of silence fell between them for a few seconds as Steve tried to think of something else he could ask to ease the other into deeper conversation. However, he didn't have to think long, as Herobrine took the opportunity to speak instead.

"...What was your home life like, when you were growing up?"

Hearing the more personal question, Steve found himself a bit confused by the other's words before realization came upon him.

Herobrine was going to give him a chance to hear about his childhood. Something he wanted to hear directly from the other.

Eagerly, Steve began to answer the question.

"Pretty good, I think. We didn't live in the best Crystalian districts when I was little, but life was still pretty good as-is."

"...How so?" Herobrine asked curiously.

"My mother worked at the local community house in our district, while my dad was a miner. Our house was decent, and we always had food on the table, so things were alright, living-wise."

He heard an interested hum come from Herobrine before the other turned back around to look at him.

"...How was your relationship with them, if you don't mind me asking?"

Steve took a moment to think over the question before shrugging as he focused his gaze on the stars.

"...I mean, it was pretty normal, I think."

"...What do you mean by normal?"

"...My dad was pretty busy, so I usually didn't see him until dinnertime. My mom too, so I spent a lot of time at the daycare my school had. After I walked home, we talked a bit at dinner, but they were usually pretty worn out by then, so I didn't bother them much after that."

Steve looked up to find Herobrine looking at him with a sympathetic expression.

"...Believe me when I say that I have no clue of what normal family relationships are like, Steven. I couldn't tell you one thing about how a child is supposed to be raised. Even then, that…that sounds rather sad, don't you think?"

Steve gave him another shrug.

"I don't think it's sad. I mean, they still loved me, and I knew that pretty well, so…what's a quiet dinner compared to that, huh?"

Herobrine looked away from him briefly before giving him a more curious expression.

"...Why did they decide to leave Crystalia to bring you to where you live now?"

Steve's expression fell at Herobrine's question.

"...They didn't bring me here with them. They sent me here alone."

"...What."

Herobrine's tone was a bit angry as Steve sat up in order to explain his words better.

"Okay, Brine, calm down. They sent me over here because they said it would be for the best, alright? They said they'd take care of some things in Crystalia, then follow me when they got enough money again for the trip."

Herobrine's slightly angered gaze fell into one of sympathy again as Steve finished his words.

"...Steven. Have they come over to Highland yet?"

Steve looked at him for a solid moment before glancing downward, unable to look the other in the eyes.

"...Steve, if they haven't come into contact with you in any way during the past decade or so, it might be time to look at the situation in a different light." Herobrine spoke quietly, his voice rather gentle as Steve finally looked up to meet his gaze again.

"...I have. I just don't wanna think about it all too much. I think I know what they meant when they said it was all 'for the best,' anyway."

Steve glanced upward as he laid back down again, looking at the stars above as he tried to steady himself before he could get too distracted.

"...When I found myself in Highland…I figured out that I'd have to fend for myself if I wanted to survive, even though I had a home and another family to take care of me. That's when I started becoming who I am now, I think. Got inspired by my dad to become a miner, since I already knew a bunch about caves and ores and stuff. Got my own house built after a while when my job became steady."

"...And your friends, Steven?"

"Pickett started working in the mines after me, mostly because I think he got worried about little me being all alone down there. Almun kinda became my business partner all of a sudden. Like, I tried to pay him at first when I brought ores for him to smelt, but…he told me that I needed to learn how to really make some money, so he started smelting my stuff for free. I gave him stuff for free in return, and now we're friends. Selwyn came along one day, and I got pretty interested in what she sold and how rare that stuff was, so I started talking to her. Then she started telling me about all of her adventures to get the stuff she sold, so I started bugging her to tell me everything, heh." Steve chuckled a bit as he finished.

"...At least you had someone who cared. Someone to talk to. That's rather important, you know."

Steve nodded, looking back at Herobrine.

"...You had Mo, right?"

Herobrine nodded slowly.

"...Yes. From the day I was born, he was my lifeline."

Curiously, Steve sat up again in order to listen to the other more intently.

"...Lifeline?"

"...Maxwell hated me from the day we were created, I believe. Mojang told me, when I was old enough to understand the possible reasons for it, that when I was born, he'd purposefully avoided taking care of me, leaving it to both him and our mother. Mostly Mojang, though."

"...Why?" Steve asked gently, slightly upset by the mention of Maxwell himself.

Herobrine narrowed his gaze, turning away from the other as he went to glare at the ground.

"...It's the one thing I have in common with that man. We both hate humans."

Steve looked at him with concern.

"...Even when you were that young, he didn't like you?"

Herobrine shook his head.

"He hates humans because they're inferior to him. He thinks that mortals are a complete mockery of the divine structure. My reasons are a bit different, but any mortal that approaches him, even the one he's supposed to be a father towards, he hates with a burning passion."

Curiosity came to Steve's expression.

"...If he hates humans so much, how do you think he was able to pull off having one as a kid? Like, he wouldn't marry one I think, based on what you're saying."

"...Maxwell was a lower god. Mojang was known as one as well, though he was still in training. Our mother was an angel. It wasn't that outlandish to believe that a mortal could be born into the family."

"...An angel?"

Herobrine nodded his head slowly.

"Less than a divine, only barely considered to be above a human. She was so, so kind. So beautiful, too. What was more bizarre than a human being born to a god was why someone as divine and glorious as her would ever even consider marrying Maxwell and staying with him for so long, status be damned."

Herobrine began to absent-mindedly pluck some strands of grass beneath him and he continued on.

"I will never forget the day she died."

Hearing his quiet, grief-filled tone, Steve looked at Herobrine with slight shock in his expression.

"...Angels can die?"

"They're the closest thing the Aether has to actual mortals. Though their souls last eternally, once their bodies are gone…they're gone. They cannot regenerate. They only have the illusion of immortality, it's a sick, cruel joke."

Steve decided to ask his next question cautiously.

"...How old were you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"...I was five. I was five when I found her dead."

Something akin to slight horror appeared in Steve's gaze.

"...You found her? At that age?"

"...I often used to travel out into the Aethren forest that laid nearby the holy palace. It was a comfort of mine, where I'd get myself acquainted with the local plant life and animals. On that day...I was outside, playing around in the forest when I heard the commotion of several beasts in the distance. Curious as I was, I made my way over, only to find a cave before me. I looked in, and I found her. Her, a bloody pile of nothing more than flesh and feathers."

Herobrine left Steve in silence for a moment, his expression unreadable.

"I think she originally came to search for me. I'd…I'd been going outside for a while at that point, and sometimes I stayed out rather late. Finding her started everything, in a sense."

"...And that pendant…was hers?" Steve pointed at his chest, where he believed the pendant in question was hidden.

Herobrine nodded.

"...I took it with me as I ran back for help. It was already too late by then, but…I tried. Mojang tried to get to her when he found out, but Maxwell had already taken care of her remains by that point."

Drawing a bit closer to the other in order to comfort him a bit, Steve found Herobrine entirely willing to accept his attempt to do so.

"...I'm sorry." Steve spoke quietly.

Herobrine gave him a soft hum in response.

"Again, she was a truly divine individual. It's a shame you've never met her."

Steve nodded slowly.

"I...I wish I had." He paused, briefly debating on whether or not to cut the conversation right there before deciding to continue slowly. "...How were things for you after that?"

"...Maxwell's cruelty only got worse after she left, though I'm not even sure why. He became more strict. I was only a mere human in his eyes, so I wasn't even deserving of his acknowledgment, nor his love. Maxwell made it known how little humans mattered in the Aether. When I made a mistake, I was hurt. Whenever I did anything apart from sitting still, standing still, or being quiet, I often went to bed still bleeding. And then I got punished for staining the sheets with my blood as well. The only time he was ever nice to me was when we were in front of other people, the ones he had to keep a positive image in front of."

Steve looked at him with deep sadness and sympathy in his eyes.

"...I knew he was bad, but…not that bad. Brine, I…I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Herobrine let out a small chuckle at his words.

"Now you know why I can't stand the idea of that man. The day I never have to see him again will be a glorious one. I suppose that us being separated ended up being a great thing because at the very least, you didn't grow up with him." He paused before continuing. "...You mentioned your father, was he anything else apart from distant?"

Steve looked at him in confusion for a moment or two.

"...I thought we were talking about you?"

"And I thought we were doing an equal exchange of information." Herobrine rebutted, leading to a look of realization flashing across Steve's eyes.

"O-oh! Right, uh…well, sometimes he was super tired and high-strung, but…I never faced anything like…well, that."

Herobrine nodded slowly.

"...Good." He paused. "...Mojang defended me, but couldn't do much given that he was next in line to the Aethren throne. A prince usurping the king wouldn't exactly be a good look. Maxwell was never kind to him either, but he at least acknowledged his divine status and connection with the higher gods."

Herobrine left Steve in silence for a bit, his gaze falling as he went to focus on the ground instead.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time when his protection would wane significantly. The more training he received, the less he was able to see me, and the less supervision I had when interacting with Maxwell and going off on my own. After the incident with my mother, Maxwell…wanted to keep a better eye on me. Wanted me to remain put and not cause any kind of trouble once again. So…he used his powers on me to create his own kind of leash, essentially."

"...What leash?"

Herobrine pointed directly to his own eyes.

"...He thought that by limiting my sight, I'd be less inclined to move. Less encouraged to cause trouble. Of course, I found a way around it, but, as I've learned to use my own influence to communicate and control, he was the first to demonstrate that ability to me. His presence is painful in more ways than one. Kept me in one place regardless, if anything. That place being wherever he wanted me to be, of course."

Steve looked at Herobrine with deep concern in his expression.

"...How could he just…do that to you? How did no one step in?"

Herobrine let out a small scoff.

"...Would you step up to the king that the higher divines chose themselves? The ruler of the Aether? The one with all the divines at his beck and call? Would you be so brave?"

Steve looked away slowly, a bit of shame appearing on his features.

"...I don't think I'd be even remotely that brave."

"...Neither did the ones who actually had the power to say something, either. At least I learned how to deal with it, in any case. Granted, I haven't been able to completely fix my eyes in my neutral state, but...it's something I lean into, nowadays. They're a part of who I am, and, frankly, I love being a reminder of Maxwell's own failure."

As Herobrine let out a small laugh, he directed his attention upward.

"...His torment lasted for years. With little else to do apart from lay still, I suppose I had nothing much to think about except being obedient. Of course, after what I witnessed, I was never going to be the same again, so, with nothing else to distract me, I became interested in the idea of mortality."

"...Mortality? Like...actually being human?" Steve asked quietly.

Herobrine shrugged at him.

"All I ever knew was that I was human. No one really explained what that meant to me before then. No one had told me prior about death, so…it was an entirely new concept for me. I didn't understand why angels fell, or why I was so apparently different from the divines. All I knew was that me being human wasn't a good look for Maxwell. I thought that no one in that perfect world could ever get that hurt, so…imagine my surprise when Mojang had to tell me why our mother wasn't ever going to come back. He spoke to me in such simple terms, and of course, a young child grows curious with the unknown, so…I became intrigued."

"...How intrigued?"

"...Enamored. I used to visit Claymore's library within the Aether in order to read more about the process. All the stages of death and decay. Why humans and other mortal creations meet that fate while the divines sit back and watch carelessly. No one ever noticed what I was getting myself into."

"...Clay let you read that kind of stuff as a kid?"

Herobrine nodded his head with a bit of breathy laughter.

"Believe me when I say that, despite him being all-knowing and rather intelligent far beyond our own comprehension…the man does not know how to talk to children, let alone know what's appropriate for them to learn and find out about. I showed interest in my own mortality, and he gave me what I needed to expand my knowledge without hesitation."

Noticing the somewhat excited look in the other's eyes, Steve pulled away a bit with worry in his own.

"...I don't like where this is going, Brine."

An amused chuckle escaped Herobrine's lips.

"It gets worse, I assure you. I went from enamored to obsessed with the idea. That one day, I'd cease to be. In all honesty, I became particularly fascinated with the idea that I could do something that the divines couldn't. I had a power that they lacked. Death was my divine ability, so to speak. They hated me for my mortal status, but that power became my reasoning for their hatred."

Thinking to himself for a moment, Herobrine slowly shook his head as a sorrowful expression entered his gaze.

"...It was the one thing I could cling to. I hated myself for being human. I hated every single thing about my status except for that."

"...You did?" Steve asked quietly.

Herobrine nodded.

"...Question. Imagine if you grew up in the same situation as I had. Would you not grow to learn how to hate yourself? To hate the thing that separated you from your peers and prevented you from ever being considered an actual part of the family you had been born into? Would you not grow ill, thinking about how things would've been had you not been raised amongst the divines, who treated you like the dirt you thought you were?"

Hearing the amount of legitimate anger and spite in the other's tone, Steve thought carefully about his answer before he spoke.

"...We…uh, probably would've gone through the same thing if I were in your place and you were in mine. I…I probably would've ended up hating humans myself." Steve said reluctantly, becoming disgusted with his own words.

"...Would you do anything to remedy it? Anything to stop the pain that they inflicted on you daily? Anything to cure yourself of your mortality? Anything to finally show off that power you came to obsess over?"

"...Possibly...probably." Steve responded, his voice even quieter than before.

"...Tell me, have you ever heard of the 'ambrosia incident' in fuller detail?"

Steve shook his head.

"...No. Why are you asking me?"

"You tend to figure things out about me without my knowledge. I was just trying to get a better idea of what you truly know about me currently. So, you've never heard about it? About ambrosia?"

Steve thought to himself for a moment before shrugging.

"...I've heard about it. Mojang told me that it…uh, helps in potions, sometimes. For the divines, I mean. The only time I ever heard about the 'incident' was when Anion came and hurt you."

"...It's a poisonous flower native to the Aether. The divines can only survive its effects because they're immortal, but if a human were to consume a single leaf, they would perish within minutes. Aethren children are often warned to avoid the shining, bright violet patches that pop up within the woodlands, for good reason. Even touching them burns the skin. Of course, with something that dangerous to mortals, I had to get a better look at it."

Feeling somewhat sick to his stomach upon thinking about the other's words, Steve nervously wrapped his arms around his knees.

"...You touched one?"

Herobrine gave him a small hum.

"...More than that."

"...You tasted it?"

"Even more than that."

"...You ate a leaf, didn't you?"

Herobrine shook his head, making Steve's heart drop further into his stomach at the motion.

"...Suffice to say, I was curious enough about the effects that I…I ended up eating whole flowers."

Steve abruptly turned to face the other.

"...Whole flowers? Flowers, plural?" Steve asked in pure disbelief, his voice in a harsh whisper as he stared at the other in shock.

To his added state of bewilderment, Herobrine let out another small chuckle.

"The 'incident' was when I was trying to play off the illness they gave me by trying to attend events as usual, until one day, my body gave up on me. Didn't happen too long after I found that patch, though."

"...But why the hell did you keep eating them, Brine?!"

Herobrine shrugged at him.

"...It hurt, don't get me wrong, but…it made Maxwell's effect on me hurt even less. It was a quick fix that I hoped would hold me over until Mojang finally took the throne and took away Maxwell's power over me."

"...Couldn't he have tried to remove that effect himself?"

Herobrine let out a small, frustrated breath.

"He did. Every time he tried, however, Maxwell just made things worse, so, he stopped for the greater good. Hurt him more than it hurt me, I think."

As Steve continued to look at him with both shock and concern, Herobrine remained perfectly calm.

"...Me getting caught and reprimanded didn't exactly kill my curiosity, let alone me. I still was rather interested in researching mortals and exploring the different ways they could cease to be. Maxwell decided to keep a closer eye on me since that whole incident didn't look good for him, but I managed to slip away when he'd go out looking for me, in any case. I kept going out into the forest, to the gardens, to the library, anywhere where I could find peace."

"...How'd you do that?"

"...When you're barely noticeable in the Aether, only becoming a subject of interest whenever you do something that embarrasses the king…people don't really notice you all that much, daily. Especially at night." Herobrine paused, seemingly bracing himself a bit before continuing to speak. "One night, I decided to sneak out and simply walk in one direction. I kept walking until I reached the edge of the island we were on. The Aether has many islands, you know. Floating ones. I looked over to find a sea of nothing below us. Frankly, I was beyond intrigued by this. Where did it lead? Where did it go?"

"...Did you ever find out?"

"...Yes. I was...bewitched. Something came over me that night, and I accepted it. Trapped within a prison, I wanted to see what freedom looked like. So…I got closer to the edge. I got very close, and…well…"

Steve looked at him with a saddened expression.

"...You fell?"

"I made myself fall."

"...You jumped."

"...If that's the proper term, then yes. As I turned around to do it, I…I found I wasn't even truly alone. Maxwell witnessed it, and yet, he did nothing to stop me. I believe that it was something we both wanted, so neither of us objected."

"...But obviously, you lived."

"...I died."

Confusion overtook Steve's expression.

"...That's...but you're-"

Herobrine's expression fell into one of slight shame.

"-Before we gain our curse of immortality, we must experience the taste of death. We die, but then we heal from it. The first ability Aethren divines develop will always be the ability to regenerate your body and heal from any ailment. Now, that might make my obsession with death rather confusing, but I was more intrigued by the fact that I'd be able to stay dead, while the divines wouldn't have the same opportunity."

As Steve slowly nodded in understanding, Herobrine continued.

"When I hit the ground, when I fell to the Overworld, I died. My functions ceased to be, and my entire body was broken." A shaky breath escaped Herobrine's lips as he raised a hand to grip his hair in evident stress over the memory. "...When I woke up, I couldn't...I couldn't breathe properly. It felt like my lungs were filled with fluid, though I know now that it was blood. My brain felt like it didn't belong to my body. I could feel my blood trying to pump its way through my body. I felt every struggling beat of my own heart. Every time I moved, not only did it hurt, but it felt like my body didn't belong to me. All I could even do without making things worse was lay still quietly on the ground. That's all I could do."

Taking a deep breath in order to calm himself down, Herobrine curiously glanced over to Steve.

"...How was your experience?" He asked quietly.

Steve raised a confused brow at him.

"...With what?"

Herobrine focused his gaze on him.

"...You have healing abilities. At one point or another, you died, Steve."

Hearing the other's words made Steve's heart drop into his stomach, forcing him to let out a shaky laugh as he found himself in solid disbelief.

"I-I...no? I...the worst that happened to me was...well, that creeper blast you gave me, and-"

"-It killed you." Herobrine interrupted, his voice becoming a bit panicked as Steve slowly joined in his distress.

"I-I only had to stay in the hospital back home for a couple of days, I-"

Steve cut his own words short as realization came to him.

"...The lady who took care of me after I got fixed up...she told me that it was a miracle I survived...I...I bled out, apparently."

Herobrine buried his face within his hands.

"...I'm sorry. Steve, I'm so-"

"-Brine, I...well, considering the injuries I got, that might've been a good thing, all things considered." Steve gave Herobrine a small smile.

Herobrine remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly taking a moment to process his own immense regret.

"...It's not, and you know that." Herobrine muttered as he lifted his head up.

"...I didn't have to worry much about what would happen after getting my hand stabbed through." Steve said, presenting his hand to the other. "...But...what did you do? Did you realize that you had healing powers at first?"

Herobrine shook his head.

"...Didn't realize what had happened until later. I was found and taken to a lab within Crystalia, but I woke up at the wrong time, surrounded by curious scientists. They were perplexed by my ability to heal from such certain death. Horrible, horrible things were done to me there, on every day of the week except for one, which I always waited for patiently. During the middle of the week, I was visited by a researcher who was rather tall, one who always looked at me with gentle eyes and spoke to me in such a kind, caring voice. He never did much to me apart from getting me cleaned up and giving me food and just, overall, looking after me like I was an actual human child."

"...I…Andvari, right?" Steve nervously glanced to the other.

Herobrine looked back at him with a slightly raised brow.

"...He told you about me too?"

Steve nodded slowly.

"...Not much, but…he told me how he found you. How he met you."

Herobrine continued looking at him for a few more seconds before letting out a small breath.

"...Andi...he saved my life." Herobrine said quietly, bringing his knees up as he spoke. "...He took great pity upon me. I don't know how he was the only one, but he saw how much I was suffering. He saw my pain, and he broke me out of there. After that, he and his wife adopted me without hesitation. Or paperwork."

"...Paperwork might've gotten you guys caught, huh?" Steve asked with a small chuckle.

Herobrine nodded his head.

"They went to great lengths to avoid being detected. They even planned to move away from Crystalia in order to give me the life I deserved. I never had a real father, and I never had my mother for long, but…Andvari is the only individual I actually call father, and Martha became the mother I had lost so long ago. I owe everything to them."

"...Something bad happened again, though, right?" Steve asked hesitantly.

Herobrine narrowed his gaze, glaring down at the ground as his memories threatened to overwhelm him.

"...Humanity is a disease. The do-gooders get harshly reprimanded by the corrupt for not being as cruel and careless as they are. One of the monsters who hurt me in the labs figured out I was with them somehow, and hurt them...Martha got gravely injured. Andvari got mortally wounded. Both of them got hurt for my sake, and paid the ultimate price for taking such pity on a creature like me."

"...But it's not something Andvari regrets, I think." Steve mentioned. "He doesn't regret saving you."

"...I know he doesn't. Martha wouldn't have regretted it either. They're both so kind and caring that even after having their lives practically ruined, they wouldn't dare go back to change anything, if it meant that I'd be happier in the long run. They loved me dearly." Herobrine sighed a bit. "...After their sacrifice for my sake, after I discovered I had powers…I grew to not only hate humanity for taking what was rightfully mine away from me in terms of status, but…I also hated it for ruining the lives of the ones I truly loved. For hurting those who wanted nothing else but to help those in need. After hating it for so long, I tried to embrace my own humanity, but when I did, I was met with such cruelty that it shattered any desire I had to be considered anything remotely human."

"...Is that why you kill humans? That's the full reason?"

Herobrine hesitantly nodded.

"...I kill most who fit the profile. Those who abuse the ones they hold power over. Those who hurt without reason. Those who mistreat the ones who dedicate themselves to them. I love killing them, and those they associate with. I told you, it brings me a certain joy that cannot be replaced."

"...I still don't like you…well, doing that instead of just giving them a fierce warning but…why go out of your way to save some humans, though?"

"...Save?" Herobrine asked curiously.

"I can imagine why you'd want to rescue Andvari, with him being your...well, dad, and all...but...Constiere? Malgun? You hate humans for a...well, as far as I can see, you hate them because they hurt you. Why do you have exceptions?"

Herobrine thought about Steve's words for a second or two before glancing down at the grass beneath them.

"...In all truth, I chose to help Constiere and Malgun for similar reasons. They didn't fit the profile."

"...How?"

"...I saw myself in them. Both were dedicated individuals in their own lives. They gave up everything, their entire minds and souls for the sake of others. They sacrificed themselves and their own happiness for the sake of their homes, their families, and friends. And what are they given in return? How are they repaid?"

"...They both got killed." Steve answered in a hushed whisper.

Herobrine let out a small sigh.

"...Constiere wanted nothing more than to serve his fellow men and prove himself through sheer will. He dedicated everything to them, and yet...they ridiculed him." Herobrine's gaze narrowed. "...He was young and rambunctious, but he had potential. Much more potential than the ilk he was sent off with. They didn't even have the courage to talk ill of him to his face. He never knew, but they despised him. He served them with all his heart, did everything they said and asked, and yet, they hated him. He could've abandoned them immediately when he discovered that enemy plot, but...he stayed in order to try and call for help from within."

"...So what you're saying is-"

"-That's why he's alive and they aren't. He was the only one I bothered saving for a reason."

"...Huh." Steve muttered to himself.

"Constiere is a wonderful, trustworthy individual. It truly boggles my mind how those idiots never saw that. Sure, he's a...bit much at times, but he's no different from me in that regard." Herobrine said, shrugging a bit as he finished.

Steve nodded slowly in response.

"...Yeah, he's pretty trustworthy." He muttered. "...And Malgun?"

"Malgun wanted nothing more than to fight me in order to prove himself to the village and his brother. He never stopped coming after me, even after they killed him for attempting to do what he was told to do. He was so, so dedicated to redeeming his bloodline that he didn't care if it brought him to ruin. He's...he's truly admirable. Though I wasn't able to get to him first after his untimely demise, the very least I could do was restore his ability to speak after his body had mostly rotted away. Not like I'd be able to do much else, anyways. My powers were still developing at that time."

Herobrine focused his gaze up toward the stars.

"I helped them because they were truly loyal to their peers and positions. I helped them because they were dedicated and inspired." Herobrine glanced briefly toward Steve. "...I helped them because they impressed me. Humanity failed them, and yet, they proceeded. I knew that should I grow weak in the face of the divines, if I were to turn to them in my time of need, they wouldn't take advantage of me. If I didn't fail them, they would join by my side willingly. When I realized that my powers were failing me, I called upon them for protection, and they came. They were truly, utterly loyal to their own causes, and now, they're dedicated to me, and I couldn't possibly ask for more."

"...Well, I hope that you know that they admire you pretty intensely. You earned their respect and dedication, sure enough." Steve said.

Herobrine gave him a small nod in response.

"...In a sense, it's a mutual thing. I'm…I'm rather dedicated to them as well. Where my family was broken and shattered…I ended up finding my own down here. For that, I love the Overworld dearly, believe it or not."

Hearing the other willingly admit his love for the realm, for the mob generals in particular, made Steve unable to hold back a small smile. Despite Herobrine's attempts to hide it, he certainly had a soft spot for the Overworld, just as he did.

Herobrine sighed, gathering Steve's attention once again.

"...My original goal, before the dragon became an issue, was to change the Overworld. To change it into something better for them. After I gave them a new life to build up from, I was going to simply remove myself from their lives to prevent any sort of further harm."

"...What do you mean by…well, better?"

"The divines believe that they have full control over each realm solely due to their status. When humans gain even the smallest semblance of real power, they think the same. Both are given power by simply existing in the positions they were given. Often, no real work is done, and yet, they believe themselves to be truly better than everyone else. They scramble to prove that fact to their peers, and it's disgusting what can come from all that nonsense." Herobrine explained, his tone becoming a rather biting one. "I didn't want my status to be given to me. I wanted to earn it. I firmly believe that the divines should have to earn their control over other beings and that humans shouldn't even dare to abuse the power they're given. To express my beliefs, I had to be the example of what I preached. I wanted to become a king through my own measures; not from my birthright, not by kissing up to anyone, nothing. Humans and gods parade around with power that is not truly earned. I wanted to destroy their beliefs and bring them back to reality. I…I wanted to change our reality."

Steve thought over Herobrine's words before raising a slight brow at him.

"...Well, how does that help the others?"

"After gaining my crown, I was going to make a world where what happened to them would never happen again. They'd be recognized for their loyalty and dedication, and every single being like them would be treated the same. The divines and humans who proved themselves to be dedicated to the world they served would be given their dues as well. I wanted to create some semblance of balance; I wanted to be the guiding light that had dimmed when Maxwell came into power."

Nodding slowly, Steve found himself a bit impressed with Herobrine's words, though, his expression slowly fell as he remembered where they currently were at the moment.

"...That all stopped when your powers faded, huh?" Steve asked quietly.

Herobrine gave him a frustrated sigh.

"The dragon started to fail again, then the whole 'champion' nonsense became a problem, and then Maxwell decided to get in the way! I was just trying to do one last thing to fix this hopeless mess that idiot created, and then of course everything had to go all wrong at once! And then I met you!"

Hearing Herobrine's annoyed tone, Steve slightly flinched as he mentioned him, suddenly feeling uncomfortable again.

"...Do you hate me?" The miner asked a bit weakly.

Herobrine briefly turned to glance at him with concern at his meek tone before turning back and shaking his head slowly.

"...I…it's a bit complicated."

"...Why?"

"...I disliked you at first, honestly. I disliked you because, in my attempt to prove myself, you became a roadblock. I'd done everything to earn my crown for myself, and yet, you didn't bow down to me immediately. You obeyed my orders, yes, but your spirit wasn't mine. I couldn't change the way you spoke to me, or how you believe you should go about your business. You kept my orders in mind but did things in your own way. You were in the presence of a divine, and yet, you treated me like I was a human."

Steve shrugged at him.

"...I thought I was being respectful enough."

"I was sick enough of your behavior to feel otherwise. Despite everything I'd done to build up my status as a divine, to someone like you, I was still human. Still not worth respect. Still not powerful enough to claim my title as an Aethren being. You reminded me of the very thing I wanted to escape. You aggravated me."

Some silence passed in between them as Herobrine ranted and Steve felt the need to move slightly away from him as the area slightly began to feel a bit hotter. As the temperature cooled once again, however, Steve heard a quiet breath leave Herobrine's mouth.

"I hated your humanity, but it was that very same humanity that…well, healed me, a bit."

"...My humanity healed you?"

Herobrine nodded as Steve came back closer once again, this time sitting directly behind the other as their backs remained turned toward each other.

"...No matter who you encountered, your first instinct was to try and befriend them. Even when they posed a threat to you...you tried to meet them where they were. You were merciful to those who wanted to harm you. You felt sorrow for those who wronged you and faced the consequences for it, myself included." Herobrine narrowed his gaze slightly as his hands fell to his lap. "I tried to put you in what I believed was your proper place, and yet, you kept crawling back out. I tried to put you beneath me, but you tried desperately to be on an equal level with me. You tried to be everyone's equal."

To his slight surprise, Steve suddenly felt a weight against his back, causing him to slightly lean forward as he turned his head to find Herobrine leaning against him.

"You don't really view anyone to be beneath you. In skill, perhaps, but on a human level? Your kindness perseveres, and I deeply apologize for trying to taint that aspect of you. You're truly divine, and yet, human all the same. It's that perfect balance that I should've been striving for, not the false belief that I needed to be one more than the other. I can't just change that now, but...I can admire you for it. I…I envy you, Steve."

Feeling a bit of warmth in his heart at the other's words, Steve leaned back against the other, a small chuckle leaving his lips as he did so.

"Why? You got all the cool powers."

"...You, as far as I can tell, are who I was meant to be. In the experiment that Maxwell prompted and Mojang performed, I was the failed attempt. I envy you for your perfection."

"I'm the least perfect person you'll ever meet Brine, there's nothing to be jealous of."

"...You're not me. That makes you perfect enough."

"...Does that I can possibly convince you to stop treating humans poorly?"

Herobrine thought intensively to himself for a few seconds before shrugging.

"...When they prove they've earned my respect, then maybe."

Steve raised his hands up and moved to stand from where they sitting, causing Herobrine to fall back as he left.

"Aaaaand there it is." Steve said, briefly stifling a small laugh as he glimpsed the other catching himself before entirely colliding with the ground. "I want you to at least reconsider your approach to humans, y'know. You said it yourself, they're not all bad!"

Herobrine turned to glare at him briefly.

"The humans that share your beliefs and sentiments I can consider, but all others-"

"-Have the ability to change, Hero." Steve gave him a smile. "Humans don't got a lot of time, so…I think that with all the time we have apparently, we can use some of it to change them for the better. I think you've taught me a bit about never underestimating the power of a good scare."

As Herobrine looked away from him in thought, Steve's smile grew softer.

"...In any case, while you think about that…I appreciate you giving me the chance to know about you a little better. I can only imagine that it was pretty tough going back over those memories."

Herobrine looked back up at him with brief shock in his eyes before realization came across them.

"...I didn't even realize I was telling you all that much…" He returned the miner's smile a bit. "I appreciate you for doing the same. I quite enjoy doing equal exchanges like this, actually."

"...I mean, all things considered, with what you told me and I told you, this might've not been that equal. I think my information was a bit skimpy, to be honest…" Steve said with a bit of a chuckle.

"...And I'm even more thankful for that. What you gave me in return was equal enough, trust me." Herobrine said, standing up as he spoke.

Steve slowly nodded in response, his smile growing a bit saddened.

"...Yeah."

As Herobrine turned away to look out into the forest, Steve did the same, briefly glancing around before he realized that his sword was still out of its sheath, planted in the ground. Moving to take it, Steve glanced back curiously at the other.

"Hey, are we gonna keep sparring? This might've been a long enough break, y'know." He asked.

Herobrine let out a small hum as Steve felt a bit of dread quickly rush through him.

"...No. I believe that we both learned quite a bit during this session. We'll pick things up later."

Nodding as he placed his sword away, Steve was just about to speak again when, all of a sudden, a loud groan of what seemed to be relief came from the distance, leading to both him and Herobrine turning to try and find where it had come from.

"Finally! You guys done chatting?!" Came Constiere's voice as he emerged from the darkness of the forest, surprisingly the two briefly as they found him to be completely on his own.

Steve cupped a hand around his mouth as the other began to cross the plains to where they were.

"Yup! All done!"

As Constiere nodded in response, he picked up the pace and went to approach Herobrine directly, getting there not too long later.

Herobrine crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Y'know being that loud is not without risk at this time of night. Anything of note out there? Something off?"

Constiere shook his head.

"We all found like, burnt-down buildings and ruined stuff, but…nobody seemed to be around. We didn't really find anything, except for…well…"

"...Well what?" Herobrine raised a slight brow at him.

"...It's a house. Just one, single house." Constiere stated, his tone somewhat unimpressed.

"...Are you sure?" Steve asked, jumping into the conversation.

"Yup, just one. Someone's definitely living in it though, since that's where the smoke is coming from, and all."

Herobrine nodded in understanding at the other's report.

"Was there anything of note about the place?"

The boy shrugged at him.

"Andvari said something was off about the place, but I didn't see anything. Of course, he went closer to get a better look at it; I came back to tell you about the place, but had to wait a bit."

Herobrine nodded slowly at his words.

"If Andi sensed that something seemed off about that building, then I believe it's worth looking into. Besides, something does seem off about someone living in the rubble remains of a village."

"...Did you guys burn this village down, maybe?" Steve asked quietly.

Both Herobrine and Constiere looked at each other briefly before shaking their heads.

"Nope. We burned down the other one, but not this one. Didn't even know this place existed, bright-eyes. We're more proud of stuff like that." Constiere explained.

"Makes it all the more intriguing to investigate. Let's meet up with the others and see what's going on before we move away from this area." Herobrine said, motioning for the miner to follow him.

As Herobrine and Constiere began to walk away, Steve watched them leave as he took a moment to glance around, his thoughts slowly catching up with him as a small smile formed on his face.

He'd gotten to bond a bit with Herobrine. Though he was still troubled with the other's mindset, they'd at least gotten the chance to build their relationship by being genuine with one another.


Okay, now here we are! Sorry for the massive delay again, I got caught up in finals and projects and stuff, and then after that, I sped my way through the new Kirby game to avoid getting spoiled lmao. 100% completed it tho, so…XD

Anyways, WOOOO finally, we hear more about Hero's past! I had to go through a couple of rewrites for this chapter, but we got here! Steve's now aware of why Herobrine has such a strong hatred for humanity. I was debating on how much detail I wanted to include about Herobrine's experience, so obviously there are some missing bits, but...that's all for Steve to figure out later! Also, turns out he lied about not having that difficult of a childhood, whoops :P

Also, this chapter includes stuff that I had planned out before the rest of the fic was made! Like, a lot of this info was planned years ago lmao. I was going to tell Herobrine's story first, starting from his childhood all the way through his involvement with Andvari, but obviously, things changed! I still have the original draft for his story, and, to give you an idea of how old it is, it's entirely written on notebook paper, with a cover I drew back in like, sixth or seventh grade, and it's barely legible with my chaotic handwriting XD I kept some things consistent with that draft (as I liked it a lot), but things were shifted a bit, such as Herobrine's willingness to speak up to Maxwell, and the reason why he left the Aether.

Time for Fun Facts!:

1.) Steve definitely learned the same lesson Herobrine did about remaining quiet with others, though, in a "better" way. He grew up keeping to himself in order to avoid annoying his parents, but when he moved to Highland, he slowly learned that it was okay to express himself!

2.) Herobrine is leaving out some details in his explanation of himself, mostly because he didn't want to upset Steve too much. He's not the only one to do so.

3.) Yes, despite loving the worship and all, Maxwell hates humans, in all actuality. Through his actions, he taught Herobrine to do the same. Mo would've probably turned out similar had the higher divines not purposely intervened with his case, and had he never created Herobrine and Steve in the first place.

4.) Maxwell unfortunately has a streak going with being a terrible parent on top of being a terrible leader. In fact, there's something known as "Child of Maxwell Syndrome" up in the Aether, as a way to explain why some divines are the way they are.

5.) The person that Herobrine chose to imitate back in Lunarus, was, in fact, his mother.

6.) Herobrine likes the color purple mainly because a bunch of plantlife up in the Aether is purple.

7.) Herobrine also hates himself for developing the same beliefs as the divines concerning humans, but feels like it's impossible to change himself due to what he had suffered through.

8.) The one reason why Maxwell considers Herobrine a major threat but not Mojang is that, while he treated both poorly and both have solid reasons to retaliate against him, only Herobrine has the actual will to do so. Mo is held back by his duties to the Aether, but Herobrine has nothing to lose in choosing to attack Maxwell. He has the means and abilities to kill the man, all he's missing is the proper weapon to do so.

9.) Yes, Steve actually was dead for a small moment in time. He was able to heal from it tho.

10.) Speaking of that whole process, a divine's training path often corresponds to how they handle their initial death/healing event. Most only go through that process in their teens, with a quick, but minor way of experiencing it, but, due to Herobrine's circumstances, his powers are also rather chaotic due to the age he was when he died, and the method of death he went through. Basically, because his event was so major, and he had to heal a lot during it, his powers started off more strongly in the beginning, and he couldn't control them well.

11.) Herobrine's rather famous in the Aether for the whole "ambrosia incident" as well as his usual shenanigans. Ambrosia is named the way it is because it's the one plant the Aether has that it can never be rid of. When a divine is buried within the Aether, often this flower sprouts up where they are placed, and they grow even further from there. It's also named the way it is because it's something mortals cannot taste (ambrosia literally means "immortality" lol). As others see it, Herobrine's attempt to "research" it was actually a way for him to become immortal like the divines, though to them, it didn't work out all too well. They did learn that had healing properties, tho

12.) Speaking of the earlier, handwritten draft...in that version, Herobrine was chased out of Aether for messing with a ceremony, or something of the sort. His fall was entirely accidental there, but Maxwell was still present to witness it. Here, the circumstances were obviously different. Also, Mojang got crowned there actually, lmao

Anyhoo, that's it for now! See you in the next chapter!