Command block [https://i.postimg.cc/m2XT5b20/CMDblock2.png]

"Hm, not quite ready yet," Stephanie said with a faint smile as she pushed the pan with a couple of seasoned chicken breasts with sliced carrots and potatoes surrounding it back into the oven to finish baking, she then removed her oven mitt and grabbed a dishrag from the sink and returned to cleaning up the food prep area and wiping down all the counters. After spending several minutes cleaning up, she washed a few of the dishes and swept the floors before cleaning the windows in the kitchen and dining areas and looking out to see the sun on the descent.

It was evening now, Herobrine hadn't woken up yet; let alone move hardly any at all. The woman looked across the kitchen to see the couch on the other side of the house, the man still slept soundly but his arm had slid off the side of the side and was now partially lying on the floor with his palm open and fingers lightly coiled. Steph finished the dining room windows first and then set the cloth aside to return to the man on her couch. She reached down and grabbed his arm then carefully lifted it and laid it back on his chest, to her surprise the immortal hadn't moved or flinched even a bit as she did so.

Her eyes linger on the sleeping god as she reaches out a hand and gently traces her fingers over his cheek and through his fine stubble, he is so polarizing. A largely terrifying, cruel, and devastating force to be reckoned with in one humanlike body, one capable of being callous, brutal, and aggressive, but can also be so calm and gentle despite his destructive nature. This was a man whom many people hated and feared, yet here she was; feeling nearly the opposite of the general population. Herobrine was a terrible fiend with his many kills, twisted deeds, and deplorable goals, yet he proved that he was not an entirely senseless monster despite his usual sadistic demeanor and ambitions. Beyond hatred, there lies the desire for closeness and affection, Stephanie could sense it.

She rather liked, if not admired, and respected him when he was more sensible and less aggressive. He proved that he could be kind, though it was limited and not made known directly or instead not made known directly with the intent. He was powerful and oddly wise to an extent, ageless yet ancient. He was a bit of a showoff too, prideful, but also lenient and entertaining when he wanted to be. Something close to normal than what she first expected of him. She wondered if he had grown comfortable around her enough to express a different spectrum of himself like he did today, though he appeared to be attracted to her so that probably helped soften his anger. Still, had it been any other human he acquired the full name of, he probably would have used his power to torture them for a laugh or two before finishing them off.

She was undoubtedly in a favored position amongst all others.

Her heart began to race at the thought and she pulled her hand away from him and cupped it in her other.

There was no doubt that she felt some kind of attraction to him in return, he was good-looking and charismatic with an enticing echoing voice, and he was a bit of a tease too but in a good and yet dangerous way that she found oddly appealing. Stephanie noted to herself that she wasn't special in any way, yet she held his attention in a way that no one else ever had as far as she was aware. She couldn't help but feel a bit significant in his eyes, holding the immortal's attention and being somewhat flirted with when such a thought regarding the man seemed impossible since he hated her kind so much.

Did he hate her too? She wondered, swallowing nervously at the thought as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Her attraction to him couldn't be helped, she knew that she shouldn't like him like that for any reason whatsoever considering his goals for her and humankind, but she couldn't help but be fascinated while at the mercy of this godlike figure. She was terrified of being so close to him and at the same time now liked it; she liked the attention that he gave her too, along with the bit of chemistry they had going on now. She liked being close to the danger and power but treated so gently and with care, she liked his dark and deep voice tones and his perfect masculine appearance, and surprisingly, even his threatening side had an appeal to it that gave her goosebumps all over.

And those hypnotizing white glowing eyes, those divinely lit glowing irises never cease to fill her with both fear and awe.

It was very wrong to be ensorcelled by this man, but here she was; strongly drawn to him by his amazing physical traits, surprising gentleness, roguish behavior, mysteriousness, and minacious personality. Even his intimidating presence seemed to draw her interest more and more, he was ... something else, not of this world.

Steph felt a bit of shame at the same time, and her frown deepened. Her brother, or anyone with a sound mind really; would greatly disapprove of this and call her crazy and try to get away from him as fast and as far as possible. But her heart tells her otherwise, she cannot deny what she has taken an interest in; even if it's bad. It's very wrong but it feels so right. He could easily crush her with one hand, yet she liked sitting in the palm of that hand despite that fact.

"What is wrong with me?" Stephanie quietly asked herself and shook her head as she ran her fingers over her face, flustered with herself. Even allowing the man to stay in her house was a horrible and negligent thing to do; the vilest of all evil entities, letting him rest on her couch just so that he could wake up after some time just to kill her later. The responsible and sane thing to do would be to go to the authorities and have them try to detain or slay the monster under her roof and stop the war from continuing, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. There was a human side to that man; albeit buried underneath all of his hatred and rage, she wanted desperately to reach it despite the risks. She wanted to get closer to the blaze and not get burnt.

Stephanie turned away and walked back into the kitchen to check on the food again, it should be done soon.

As she moved away, Herobrine's arm slowly but surely slid off of his chest, it landed by his side and began slipping over the side of the couch again, but this time a square-like shape of light began emitting from his palm; the light soon began to take form and started manifesting into an actual object. A small tan-colored cube formed in Hero's hand, his arm then fully dropped back over the side; the back of his palm hit the floor and the cube bounced out of his grasp and clattered against the floor for a couple of feet and came to a stop.

The sudden sound had Stephanie turning around and looking back up and over the island countertop. She saw Herobrine's arm hanging over the side of the couch again. She sighed and began walking back towards him, it felt a bit rude to leave any part of him on the floor so she moved back to him. Once returning to the living room she adjusted his limb to rest perfectly next to his side and then tucked the blanket beneath his shoulder to hold his limb in place this time. Thankfully it worked. The woman gave a slight smile for the effort and was ready to return to the dining room to get her plate and utensils set up until something in the dark of the living room floor caught her eye with its flashing lights glowing.

Stephanie took a few steps and reached down to pick up the mysterious item. She examined it in curiosity, slightly tilting it from side to side to see multiple shapes on every face of the cube and small flashing multi-colored lights on what appeared to be tiny buttons. It was such a strange-looking object, nothing she had never seen before on a block; it looked even more complex than a large redstone machine despite its size.

"What is this?" She asked herself before looking over her shoulder at Herobrine. He appeared to still be deep in his slumber, unphased by anything since he passed out over four hours ago; not even flinching when she accidentally dropped a few cooking pans just before she started preparing dinner. This could explain why Hero's arm had been hanging off the side of the couch, but where did he conceal the item in question? Or better yet, how did he drop it? His hands were empty when he fell asleep, which she was sure of. The man couldn't have just summoned it in his sleep, could he?

The thought was a little unnerving, having the woman wonder what else he could summon while unresponsive and what possible dangers that could pose.

Curious eyes glance at the small cube once more, something about the object was off-putting. It felt unnaturally warm in her hand and there were small pulses radiating from it, she speculated it to be energy of some kind since it felt somewhat similar to the power that flowed within her when she was looking through the floor and walls by Herobrine's command. As interesting as the block was, she needed to return to the food in the kitchen since dinner was nearly finished; she could ask her guest about it later.

As Stephanie turned around and began walking towards the small table beside the couch to place the item on, she felt a small click of one of the buttons beneath her index finger while holding the cube and immediately felt a powerful surge throughout her body. She froze in place and her body shuddered, she felt what were like bolts of lightning traversing through her limbs and burning her from the inside out.

A loud painful cry escaped her mouth and she immediately fell to her knees while grimacing from the shockwaves, soon that pain, however; was replaced with an even greater kind. Steph knelt forward with a shout, the crown of her head met the floor as the cube and her arm stretched out before her; fingers practically glued to the block. This new pain was overwhelming, it felt like what she assumed was power coursing through her, the same as the kind that Herobrine gave her for a brief time though it was far more excruciating and intolerable than what she had been exposed to.

Though it was hurting her, something about the power drove her to continue to cling onto the cube as if it were a lifeline; an indescribable feeling of need came over her as if it was the one thing that could solve all of her problems and eradicate her fears just by being in possession of it. With tightly shut eyes, she could see what appeared to be glimpses into her mind of thousands upon thousands of numbers in different patterns flash before her in short snippets, though she didn't understand the meaning of these lines of numbers; she believed that they were important in some way. Small gasps escaped her mouth as the power continued to flow throughout her being, she knew that she needed to get the powerful item out of her hand and yet was struggling to, it was taking some time but she was slowly adjusting to the pain a bit; now able to lift her head enough and stare through narrowed eyes at the object in her grasp.

Even in pain, she felt as if she had become invincible, almost as if something about the block's power had altered every fiber of her body. She didn't know how to use this power but could feel it, it was incredible and terrifying. Then her eyes widened, the bottom half of the block in the palm of her hand appeared to be dissolving in her hold and the glowing bits now sinking into her flesh as if she was absorbing it. At that moment she snapped out of the trancelike state she had been in and sat up with fright, she then grabbed onto the top half of the cube with her other hand and began trying to pry it away from her palm. As amazing as the power felt aside from the intense bodily ache, Stephanie knew that she could not keep it, it was too much, it was painful, and most importantly; it wasn't hers.

Blue-violet eyes briefly glance towards Herobrine, he remains still and quiet as he continues to sleep, undisturbed by her cries and the feeling of power permeating the atmosphere around them.

Steph grimaced with gnashed teeth as she tried her best to pull the cube from her hand, she poured every ounce of her will into rejecting the endless flow of energy in the hopes that it would help. To her surprise, it seemed to be working. She could feel the power recede as she tugged with more force; the tiny fragments of the small block unembedded themselves from her flesh, returned to it, and began restoring its shape. Once the cube was fully returned to its original state, it practically released its hold on the woman and was easily yanked out of her palm; she nearly fell backward from the pull.

All the flowing energy throughout her body was immediately cut off and faded within seconds, the tension around her vanished. Stephanie sighed in relief and panted as she sat on the floor, sweat lined her face and she felt hot all over. She wiped at the sweat from above her brow with the sleeve of her jacket and reclined back on her empty hand for several minutes; just glad that the strange and horrifying ordeal was over.

The woman stayed sitting on the floor for a bit to gather her thoughts on the block before pushing herself up to stand, it was definitely not meant for humans; that much she now knew. She even wondered what someone could do with it if they could get past the acute pain and figure out how to use it, she wondered about its origins and limitations though not for long. The block wasn't hers and she did not bring it into her home, this of course could only mean that it belonged to Herobrine; it was powerful and unlike anything she'd ever seen or held before so it had to belong to the god.

This realization made her even more curious about the cube as she stared at it in her now careful hold; being mindful not to touch any of the buttons this time, such a powerful item or weapon even, belonging to an ancient deity of all creatures was an amazing prospect despite the potential dangers of it. Anyone knowledgeable in ancient weapons and the history of said things would be ecstatic to see it in person, even more so to hold it for even a second. Her friendly neighbor Nigel would probably do a flip despite his old age just to know that this thing exists, the elderly man loves finding ancient items.

There was nothing like it that Stephanie had ever seen in the legend archives and it certainly felt different than an old parchment of paper or shard of ancient pottery, better than any rusty antique blade or dust-covered enchantment book. Though the cube appeared to be in a near-perfect state, it had to be old... unless Herobrine had made it himself. Now that would be even more incredible, a crafted item from the new god. Steph wasn't entirely sure if it was old and just well taken care of since Herobrine had a mending ability and if he made the object himself, she had quite a few questions about the block and decided she'd ask the white-eyed man about it later since she was cooking.

Stephanie gasped and her eyes darted to the kitchen in shock, she had forgotten about her dinner!

"No!" The woman quickly moved over to the table and placed the block down before rushing into the kitchen; she quickly grabbed an oven mitt and opened the furnace to take out her baked chicken, potatoes, and carrots, her free hand waved at the smoke that flew into the air around her and she quickly and carefully moved the hot pan up and placed it overtop of her oven; her food was burnt and the smell of charred meat filled the room to her dismay. She waved away the smoke as she shut the furnace door and stared down at the blackened chicken breasts and sliced charred bits of what remained of her vegetables, she had been so wrapped up in the cube and its effects that she had forgotten her food had finished cooking several minutes ago.

Stephanie's lips pursed at the pathetic sight of her meal, it was going to have to be thrown out now which was such a waste. She made enough food for two in case Herobrine had woken up, a kind gesture for her guest since she wanted to try and be a friend; now that plan was ruined. It was probably unlikely that he'd wake up in time for a hot meal, or that he'd even want to eat, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't have it if he did or saved it for him for a later time.

"So much for that plan. What a day." The woman sighed and pulled off the oven mitt before brushing her auburn bangs back in frustration, she still felt the sweat and residual aches and pains from the cube. First, she woke up late, then found Herobrine in her house, then Herobrine didn't want to hide from her brother and she had to convince him to, then got toyed around with harshly; ... at least for a little bit, then suffered pain and power from a supposed possession of Herobrine's, and now this.

Today was not her day, though helping the man when he needed it felt nicely rewarding to her and they did have some fun before that. His compliment of her smile was also quite nice, her face flushed a bit and her heart raced at the thought of it as well as the brief kiss they had this morning as she took a fork and began scraping up the chicken and veggies that were burnt to the pan. The good parts of the day so far were enough to put a small smile on her face as she raked the charred remains of the food into the trash, her disappointment with the meal quickly faded.

Herobrine has been more cooperative than expected and interesting, definitely more welcoming than on the night they first met. Stephanie decided that she'd continue to take care of him until he was well rested and ready to leave, even thinking about saving him a plate from tomorrow's planned dinner with her friends and family as a gift. It was too soon to expect kindness and consideration in return at all yet, or at the very least; gratitude. However; she was determined to show him that humans weren't all that bad, there were still a couple of days left to try and change his mind and so far he seemed to be enjoying her company.

It was all she could do really.

...

Closed eyes tighten, nostrils flared, and stiff limbs begin to move and stretch in the limited space on the couch. Herobrine began to stir in his sleep, slowly but surely waking up but in no rush as he laid still for a long moment before stretching again and bringing an aching arm up to his face to rub at his eyes and brush his hair back a little. He let out a long quiet yawn and finally opened his eyes, a deep frown graced his features as the aches in his body persisted, on top of that he still felt the residual feeling of fatigue from the draining effect.

The effects should have been gone by now.

White eyes open to the wooden ceiling above, they then glance around as he turns his head to the side. His eyes first fell upon the woman in the chair close by, she was slouched over to one side asleep with scattered sheets of paper on the floor and her book and quill barely resting in her lap. Wads of paper were scattered about the floor as well, she must have been working on the song for him and fell asleep once again. He could tell that it was nighttime by the lack of light in the room and the entire house, not too late into the night; but enough for mobs to be wandering about outside.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

As Herobrine forced himself to sit up, however; he noticed how tired and weak he still felt. He should have fully recovered by now, especially if he had been out for several hours. Something was not right.

The man closed his eyes and focused and concentrated on his powers and noticed something was missing, his white eyes snapped open and then narrowed, and he noticed that his command block was gone as well as its restoring effects. The ancient being sneered as he forced himself up onto his aching legs, his angry frantic gaze quickly darting around in search of his block; his most prized possession. To his relief, he spots the small cube sitting on the small table on the side of the couch next to a glass of water, still flashing colors on the small buttons. His tense posture slackened as he reached over and took it into hand, he then noticed something off about it and felt his anger swell within him and his grip tighten on the power source.

White glaring eyes move back over to the sleeping woman, he was very tempted to kill her right then and there for daring to touch 'his' property, yet that anger spike was quick to diminish in seconds of staring at her defenseless sleeping form; anger was quickly replaced with confusion and uncertainty but not entirely. He noticed the scent on the block, it was hers, she held it, and worse, she had activated it. He wasn't sure what she did with it, but for the brief amount of time holding it; she may have possibly been on the same level as a god.

Herobrine decided to stay his hands, his eyes now falling back onto the command block.

...

"So, do you have anything of sentimental value?"

...

The woman's words echoed in his mind as he quietly stared, he had lied to her. There was one thing other than his Nether Fortress that he valued, it was this small cube. His thoughts jumped many years back to when he first received the item, he had never been given something as amazing and as powerful before.

...

"With this command block, we can finally build stuff together without me having to continuously supply everything. It can also be used to do some of the things that I can, as well as always keep your health to the fullest and change many things around us with relative ease. From changing the time of day at will, flying, changing mob spawn rates, altering blocks, and even providing you true immortality. You'll be almost like me, you'll finally be a god of this world, just like you've always wanted to be."

"Notch, this power... I humbly accept it with gratefulness and great joy. To finally and truly stand in as a near equal to you, there is no greater honor. To be a god..."

"Just remember Herobrine, I ask you to not abuse this power; especially not against humans. If you're going to be a god to this world and its inhabitants like me then you need to exercise responsibility and accountability for your actions from this point forward for whatever you use the powers for. I want moderation, self-control, and a more mature state of mind. You're a god now so it's time to act like one, no more petty revenge schemes okay? I- ... I know you still hunt them and will continue to kill them, but I am asking you not to use the commands on or against them. I don't want you to do things like keeping the world locked on the night cycle, go on massive killing sprees since you can't die anymore, or torture humans via commands no matter how tempting it may be to those who had killed you before and or those whom you really hate. I'm trusting you not to misuse these special powers against those who are weaker than you, I'm trusting you not to be the old Herobrine anymore."

"I will not be that way from this day onward, that I promise brother."

...

'So much for promises, it was pointless to make it.' He thought bitterly, remembering how disappointed and angry Notch had been back then, from punishing him to taking away his godly status briefly to alter the command cube. It was too easy to give in to the temptation of trying out the new powers on the mortals who were on his personal list, responsibility came in second to revenge, and in the end, he couldn't help himself. He was weak to his desires and easily gave in to them.

Unfortunately, acquiring revenge on his foes eventually led to reckless abandon and abuse of his authority and power. He was not the god that his brother had hoped he would be; forever straining their familial ties with one big mistake right after another until his brother could stand it no more. Hero was surprised that the creator never took and kept the block after all the atrocities he committed with it, only altering some of the commands and abilities, locking some from being used entirely, and greatly hindering his ability to use commands directly on humans unless it was from a command outside of their code.

It was the last gift given to him other than the world itself, the only thing that truly mattered to him, and remained as his last ties to Notch even after his final departure. No one had ever held the block before other than him or Notch, certainly not a mob or human, and as mad as he was that Stephanie had touched this incredibly valuable and powerful object; he was even more confused as to why she didn't keep it and use it against him. It is the only thing that could give her enough power to slay him.

He suddenly wondered if humans could use it despite not understanding the fundamentals of the world or the power itself.

His frown deepened as his grip on the block tightened, he needed to know.

...

The woman's eyes began to flutter open from the sounds of birds chirping and singing the morning songs, the sunlight pouring into the room brightened the interior; indicating that it was time to get up. Stephanie leaned up from her mattress and stretched a little as she let out a quiet yawn, but as she blinked she noticed that she was in her bed and still in her clothes from yesterday and not her nightgown or asleep in the chair where she last recalled dozing off. Her eyes widen and she looks around her room and softly gasps as she notices Herobrine standing nearby, gazing blankly out the large window by her bed. She goes stiff as he turns his head to look at her, his emotionless expression quickly flickers to one of aggression and he swiftly approaches her, there is no time to react as he suddenly grabs her by the neck and slams her back down against her pillow with brightly flaring eyes of rage.

She is confused, scared, and trying to pry his fingers from around her jugular. Thankfully he wasn't crushing her esophagus or putting on enough pressure to choke her, he applied enough force for it to be very uncomfortable and threatening.

"You have some nerve woman," He said through gritted teeth while trying not to give into the urge to strangle her for the crime she committed against him.

"I- I don't..." She muttered, so confused as to why he was suddenly enraged and on the offense.

"You don't know?" He asked in an almost mocking tone, he then held out his empty hand summoned the command cube from his hand, and then pushed it into her face, making her yelp from a sharp corner being pressed into her forehead. "See it now?!" He barked in rage, then pulled it back some when she cried out. "You dare have the nerve to touch anything of mine without my permission mortal?! You should be thankful that I don't take off your head for holding my command block for even a second, and don't deny it; your scent is all over it!"

Stephanie swayed her head back and forth. "I don't understand, why are you so angry? I was only... picking it up off the floor."

"You don't have a clue to what you were holding, do you?" His voice tones lightened but still carried his anger. "You activated it, I don't know what you did, but it has been used." He stared at her for a moment awaiting a response; when he got none he snarled applied a little more pressure on her throat and growled loudly. "Now tell me woman, what did you do?! Tell me now!"

She didn't remember doing anything with it, only feeling its power and her body unwillingly trying to absorb it. "N-nothing, I accidentally hit a button on it and it triggered, I felt power and it was excruciatingly painful, it started to break into pieces... and melt into my hand but I didn't let it. That is all, please let go... of me." She pleaded truthfully and tears started forming at the corners of her eyes as he added more pressure and started cutting off her oxygen.

Through strained eyes and her hoarse voice, he found the truth; this did little to subside his anger and confusion but he decided to release his grip on the woman and walk a few steps away while trying to figure out the woman's motives. With his back to her, he began again as he looked at the block in hand. "Either you are a fool or just plain ignorant."

Steph rubbed her neck as she sat back up from her mattress and softly clenched her throat. "W-What?" She asked quietly.

Herobrine then turned back around and immediately appeared at her side in the blink of an eye, he then grabbed the woman by the hand then forced the cube into her palm, and closed her fingers around it, she grunted in pain as he coiled her fingers tightly over it with his own. "Use it." He commanded softly but threateningly.

"I don't-"

"Use it!" He shouted more loudly, looking out of patience with his deep scowl. "I showed you a handful of commands just yesterday mortal, use one."

'I don't know how.' Stephanie thought to herself, feeling worried and afraid with Herobrine's growing anger and being forced to hold the object that brought her so much pain. She didn't get long enough time to even try and figure out the block in her hand before Herobrine reached through a gap between her fingers and pressed one of the buttons, that same painful surge of power she experienced last night returned immediately and she began to cry out as the power fluctuated throughout her body in slow dreadful waves. Small sparks of energy exited her body in various places and she screamed from each one, the power coursing through her now was far stronger than the kind she felt previously and she felt like her body couldn't contain all of it and it was escaping her. She didn't know what to do.

Herobrine growled as the woman continued to sit there, being a fool. "Will the command block to perform a command woman, it's on and activated so use it." He shook his head as she remained still and let out a cry as the power flowed, apparently, she didn't know what she was holding. "This little cube you hold is a very powerful resource human, with it you can do so many things that most mortals would only ever dream of. Remember those commands I used on you? Yes?" He said with a more calmer tone to try and encourage the mortal to obey him. He grinned a little sinisterly when she nodded. "Do one of those, with this block you can call forth the power to do any one of those commands or others if you discover them. ... Or better yet... Why don't you use the Kill command on me hm? My full name is just Herobrine, all you have to do is just will the command 'Kill' and my name, it's as simple as that Stephanie." He said with a devious toothy grin and narrowed eyes, watching as the human slowly adjusted to the power flow and the sparks decreasing in size and amount as time passed.

Stephanie's eyes snapped open and she looked at him fearfully. She could do that? The notion was absolutely terrifying, to murder... at will? Her? She shook her head in defiance, she'd rather try to initiate a different command as she was first ordered to, not kill him. Was he testing her? Or was he okay to be killed in this way? Now the woman was even more confused and frightened, such power in her hands does not belong to humans and should not be used ever for something like this, just to prove she could use the power and manifest it it in some way.

"Use the command human," Herobrine said, his voices were low but the malice was still present. "Kill Herobrine." He whispered. "If it will save you from my wrath to come then you will use it, woman."

"Please, I don't wan-"

"I said use it! Command me to die!" He barked again with his voice tones loud again, his patience was gone. "Use the command or I will end our deal right here and right now, I'll even drag your brother here and torture him to death before your eyes if you do not comply with me, now use it!"

She didn't want to, but she had to... for Steve.

But to murder? Inconceivable. She just wanted Herobrine to stop.

Hero snorted, his expression falling a bit. "So the deal is off then? You'll only have yourself to blame." He began to walk towards the door.

"Please no!" Stephanie then grabbed onto the cube with both hands and screamed out in pain and fear as she willed a command with all of her being, almost immediately she could see millions upon millions of numbers in her head, she ignored them and cried aloud as the power that flooded her suddenly escaped her like a large invisible shockwave, it passes through the walls of the house and out through the woods and the town surrounding.

Herobrine's scowl faded as a command was made, he frowned as he turned back around and looked down at the woman still curled in on herself, she shuddered as she softly panted and gasped. She used a command, but it was not the one he demanded of her, nor one he had shown her previously just the day before.

'But why that command?' He thought, lightly gaping.

"You changed the world's mode to Peaceful, out of all the commands..." He spoke quietly, still surprised. "You didn't even try to use the Kill command on me." Now he was even more confused than before. He watched as Stephanie shook her head.

"Please, don't make me use that one, please?" She pleads, her voice practically begging through her quiet sobs. She lifted her face, tears streaming down the sides.

Herobrine's anger subsided and he placed a hand on his head and dug fingers through his hair as he huffed, he got his answer; humans can use his block and that was not a good thing. At the same time, he was surprised that she used a command that she wasn't even aware of, this he assumed was the first time she had ever used one until now, and she performed one without fail and of one not yet known to her. He had to admit to himself, that it was impressive. Still, she chose not to kill him, not that it would matter had she used it.

"Stop your tears woman, the Kill command doesn't even work on me, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't know if you had tried to use it on me though."

She looked up at him. "What?"

"I'm not like your kind, as a modification of this world; these types of commands don't work on me or any kind of mods; including the monsters that gain enough levels. They become modified and gain the status after obtaining sentience through experience from slaying humans, my direct commands don't work on them either; only commands outside their code will. But, this does prove that you can use my block." He grunted in annoyance. "I wasn't expecting it to, and on top of that; setting the world status to Peaceful." He lightly growled and held his hand out at her for her to give him back the block. "What command were you trying to manifest woman?"

"I don't know." The Stonewall sibling glanced at the block once more and placed it in his palm, her eyes avoiding his as she rested her hands on her lap. "I just wanted you to stop yelling and making threats, I wanted you to return to the calm and charming man you were yesterday. I didn't want you to force me to kill you." She didn't mention the plethora of words she thought of and searched through for the right one needed to get the command to work; but when she found it; a long line of numbers stood out from the countless others and then energy was expelled from the block. It was odd, time felt much slower when she was searching for the word to initiate the command, then when she found it, 'peaceful' it happened.

The man sighed. "Though useless against me, it's a command no longer needed for this world. What a nuisance, I thought I'd never see in use again." He held up his block as if about to use it, Stephanie looked up and blinked.

"Wait!" She shouted, holding up an arm at him to stop him. What piqued her curiosity was what Herobrine said about setting the world to a Peaceful state, did this mean what she thought it meant? "What do you mean? What does that command do?"

"It is simple Miss 'Serene' Stonewall, it sets all the world's unmodified mobs and creatures to a non-hostile status and all humans lose the direct ability to die no matter the age or injury; well, apart from a few rare and very specific conditions that are nearly impossible to achieve. But yes, that. Peaceful in every essence of the word, aside from you humans, it doesn't work on your kind either. Then again, it was never meant for that, just the mobs and the removal of death. That was its first and only intention of use... a very very long time ago. But that ends now, a Peaceful world in this day and age is a terrible one." His eyes flashed brightly and the active command came to an end.

Stephanie gaped, she felt a slight tremble in her body for a moment, and then nothing. "Why did you do that? A peaceful world sounds amazing, no one dies, no more fighting mobs... or at least most of them. How is that a terrible thing?"

"Ignorant woman, too soft for your own good. Do you know anything about this world and its inhabitants? Its limitations?" He held the command block tightly and it glowed a near blinding white before dissolving into his hand.

The woman just stared, making no attempt to comment.

Herobrine folded his arms, his eyes narrowed. "On a surface level, such a command seems good, if not completely desired. A world where no one dies and everyone can live in peace is a simple concept for a simple mind. In truth, it's a false reality that is unobtainable. From the perspective of a higher being like me; who knows the full extent of the repercussions, it can create a complete and irreversible cataclysmic disaster. Maybe if Notch had let the first humans be and allowed them to respawn over and over again instead of dying for good and never allowing modifications into this world; then a Peaceful World could work, but not anymore. Ever since humans were given the ability to procreate and advance in the knowledge of crafting; there's been a need for a rebalance, death.

I am one of those balancing factors. In a world without death, a world with limited resources, mind you, creates many problems over time along with human progression. This world may be massive but it is not truly infinite, and neither are the other dimensions alongside it.

If no one dies and the population ever climbs then after a very long time this creates the biggest issue. You would think that all mortals would get along and try conservation efforts and manage farming, maybe even limit or even try to outlaw having offspring; but that will never happen as not all of them will follow laws they don't agree with. Humans would one day be constantly fighting over territory, over resources til they're all used up, and most importantly, over food. If you've never gone a week without a single meal mortal; then you cannot even begin to fathom the pangs of starvation. They'll turn against each other for even the smallest scrap of meat, I've seen humans fight over the most ridiculous of things, but nothing drives them to violence like hunger and greed. Survival drives the mind like it would an animal's."

'That's not entirely true.' Stephanie thought. She'd never go that far; then again her brother never let her starve even when they were young and homeless. Still, in her heart, she'd rather starve than kill.

"If no one dies then many would be subjected to endless starvation; if they don't first turn to mob meat, or worse, each other. And starvation is just one aspect, I have yet to mention endless pain and suffering. Imagine while fighting for the small meat off of a silverfish that you find yourself overpowered by a small group and they decide to punish you or get you out of their way for good. They could simply throw you into a deep fire pit where you'd continuously burn, not escape, and yet not die. Or if they decided to chain you to a stone pillar and toss you into the ocean, forever to suffer the effects of drowning in the crushing power of the deep; you got a taste of that effect yourself."

Stephanie lowered her gaze, she hated the fact that he had a point but still felt like there could be a solution made instead of just accepting facts. He's a god now, he could change things for the better if he wanted, maybe not to a world completely at peace but closer to it. However, that is out of the question with his current genocidal goals.

"Living in that kind of world is a fate worse than death, mortals will never truly know peace and will always step on one another for gain and survival. If they advance their knowledge even further with time, then who knows what destructive devices they can create? Maybe things that could rival even my power to a degree.

There must be a balance of life and death, that is why Notch-... why 'I'-" His voices lifted. "Had the mobs be given the ability to grow beyond their standard capabilities because they helped to maintain the population when humans began innovating and thriving too well. That is of course, no longer necessary with my current plans, but you see why the peaceful command is pointless now. It's practically useless, this is why mobs must kill humans; whether you like it or not. It's for your own benefit, woman. Death in of itself is a mercy, keep that in mind." Herobrine's voices and gaze softened, and he unfolded his arms. "However; your intentions of bringing me to peace instead of initiating the kill command despite the threats... I- hmmm." He paused, still indecisive about this little test and the woman before him. His eyes narrowed a bit. "I don't get you."

Stephanie blinked and looked back at him. Why did that surprise or confuse him? Out of the little time they've gotten to know each other he should expect her to be a kind and caring woman, she even begged him not to make her kill him. She had no intent to or ever tried because it's not in her to do so. Maybe someone else would have, but not her. "What is there not to get? Have you ever considered that not all of us are the sa-"

The woman went silent as a knocking sound came from her front door, Herobrine turned and looked through the doorway out of her room, eyes narrowing thinly and he growled. "Er, that damn miner is here."

"Herobrine, please, don't-" She pleaded.

"I won't kill him, ... at least not yet." He then glanced over his shoulder at the woman from the corner of his eye. "Meet me out at sundown by the river, where we first met. Do not keep me waiting this time, are we clear?" He asked sternly, the woman nodded. "Good, I will see you then." And with that, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

Stephanie quickly wiped her face with her sleeves as she moved to get off of her bed and then made her way toward the living room to greet her brother, she didn't even get the time to process everything. With a deep sigh, Steph calmed herself and put on a smile as she opened the door.