An escort?

Stephanie was unsure of herself by such a 'kindly' gesture, Herobrine just didn't seem to be the same man she had bumped into last night and she was beginning to wonder if she should be more scared with this strange change in him. He was just as powerful, as terrifying, and spoke as wickedly with that same excited maniacal expression as he did the night before, but now he was not threatening to kill her or at least attempting to mentally torment her. He seemed to find her 'intriguing'; whatever that could mean, she briefly shook her head at the thought. But protecting her, providing comfort, and returning her sword when it's completely unnecessary for an enemy that probably won't be around for very long? And now an escort? It makes absolutely no sense.

Why such a sudden profound change? It's suspicious.

Yet for a moment, or a few actually, he seemed quite genuine. Like when he got annoyed that she didn't seem grateful for watching over her as she slept, or when he returned her sword; no trap or malice came with it. He appeared taken aback almost when he found out that she didn't tell anyone of their encounter, such expressions and voice tones seemed quite authentic.

No. He was nothing like this the night before, the fact that she was alive to entertain him seemed to be her only purpose at the moment, she had to remember who she was dealing with; a coldblooded killer with too much power and time on his hands.

Herobrine had to be playing mind games or was up to something and trying to coax her into false comfort as a trick though he denies the notion. She certainly didn't trust him and had no intention to in any regard, he's like a child playing with his food out of sheer boredom; like there's nothing better to do. Even gathering the leaves that he laid her upon; nowhere near where she first laid down at that, it is all too suspicious to be some act of kindness, and now wants to escort her home? Nope, not from the King of Mobs, a man Nether-bent on human genocide and Overworld conquest.

Her heart wrenched, for him it's all just a game of manipulation and murder; a pastime until he's ready to strike. With such cruelty he's spoken of so far, it's to be expected.

Steph silently berated herself for thinking that even for a second this man- ... monster ... had even a single shred of dignity or sympathy for anyone that wasn't himself. The guy is narcissistic with a superiority complex, an abhorrent haughty man who kills for fun, quite depraved and inappropriate too. There was no reason to have him escort her home when she doubted that it was his true intention, he'd probably lead her right into a trap to cause her more mental and possibly physical anguish, or talk down to her and mock her the entire walk back.

The choice was clear.

"I don't need an escort." Stephanie finally spoke up, eyes off to the side and avoiding his intimidating gaze and reaction. "I have no reason to trust you in getting me back to my village, you even removed me from the place where I fell asleep; I'm not even sure where we are right now." She dared to look him in the face, his grin was gone. "I'd rather take my chances on my own with all of these mobs and with no light sources than allow you the pleasure of my misery for your enjoyment. And if a few mobs kill me... well then at least that'll take care of the 'using me to get at my brother' event that I have absolutely no desire to partake in." She said with an exaggerated shrug then turned away from him and began heading in a direction that seemed at least a little familiar to her, back into the oak woods and away from the birch forests nearby.

Herobrine's eyes narrowed and the glow flared up a little in intensity with his scowl, this rejected offer was unexpected and foolish of her given the circumstances. And yet, the likelihood of death still benefited her in one way or another. However; he was the owner of this world, he governed it all now that Notch was gone; even her fate if he so chose to. He will not simply let her just leave and walk straight to her demise with the numerous mobs about, her life belonged to him now.

Before Stephanie could take another step, Herobrine suddenly appeared right in front of her with an imposing look, causing her to come to a stop and back away a few steps in apprehension; he looked furious with her. That was a quick shift in mood.

"You're going the wrong way." He said lowly then nodded a little towards his right. "Whether you want an escort or not, you're getting one." He growled.

Oh, so he was going to keep her alive now? Not because he cared or anything, but because she's a part of his revenge scheme and amusement? Stephanie honestly just wanted to be left alone, there was no reason to play into this lunatic's manipulations; certainly not a guy to trust. Even if he seemed serious about leading her in the right direction, that didn't mean that he had the right intentions and he made it clear the night before that he didn't. She could not take the sincerity out of his current expression and believe in it, she'd rather take her chances with the mobs.

"Like me going in the wrong direction or getting attacked or killed by the mobs is something to concern 'yourself' with Herobrine?" Steph started quietly with her iron blade held low, the more she thought about him using her the less fear she had of him, she let her anger take charge now.

"You will follow."

"No, I will not. I know why you're doing this, well I'm not here to entertain you. Yeah, I know I made the mistake of coming out here and passing out until after dark, but like you said; I'd have better chances with the mobs than you. And might I also point out what you said just a few moments ago, that you're not my king? I don't have to bend to your will."

Herobrine's scowl deepened as she daringly walked past him, his hands coiling into fists. "Halt mortal, or I will ensure that when the time comes to have you, your suffering will be immense and relentless." He hissed with a warning, white whisps flaring from his eyes.

Stephanie came to a stop and quivered at the thought but shook it off quickly, it didn't matter anymore. With a nervous sigh, she spoke up but kept her back to the white-eyed man. "You can hold all of the threats you want over my head Herobrine, but in the end, it changes nothing. You're still going to torture and kill me and my brother and then all of humanity, I was never expecting a merciful swift end from the start. You're nothing but a monster."

"Even so, if you don't hold your tongue and comply I'll-"

"What?" She interrupted. "Have your way with me and kill me right now?" She shook her head, her voice now raised and as nearly as loud as his. "It still changes nothing." Stephanie then spun on her heels, staring into his glowering expression; he looked almost as if ready to attack with his pose. The deep-seated fear was still ever-present for the man, yet it was also buried beneath her growing ire. "I almost wish you'd just go ahead and do it already, maybe then my soul can finally rest when it's all over. I have spent most of my day in fear and worry, I've had barely any sleep. Honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about you storming into my village with your army, your presence out here has done nothing but bring me stress and grief the entire day.

I had broken down to tears and sat in despair for hours over the matter this morning just thinking about your cruel plans, Steve nor I deserve such a fate but I know that we can't beat you. We can't contend with your power even if we rallied the entire village against you, I can't even hope to try to beat the next challenge either." Steph said, placing her empty hand over her heart. "I admit that I was very lucky in the first one last night, I probably won't stand a chance against you in the next one; whatever it may be or require of me. But I also know that giving me and my brother and everyone in town more time to 'live' isn't going to change the overall outcome."

Her arm dropped and her posture sank a little as did her angered look; hopelessness was beginning to settle in her mind. "Steve has the best chances of facing you in battle but he cannot beat thousands and thousands of mobs in one setting, even if he did by some miracle somehow beat you. I have much doubt that he can defeat you in battle again; especially given your current strength and abilities." Her words came out more softly, her expression solemn. "I'm starting to believe that maybe he got lucky too.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm already a corpse on her way to her grave. We can't beat a demon." She muttered, eyes now gazing up at the sky. "But if Notch were here, he- he'd be able to stop you."

White eyes widened.

"He'd bring your war over humanity to an end in an instant before it can begin. But where is he? Why won't he come down to us now in our time of need? If anyone can stop you, it's him. Notch, where ar-"

In what seemed like a flash, Stephanie felt an abrupt sharp pang stinging the side of her right cheek as Herobrine appeared before her in the blink of an eye and backhanded her ruthlessly. The strike was strong enough to send her off of her feet and crash backward onto the ground with a loud cry of pain, she dropped her sword in the process.

"You human, dare utter his name around me? That was a mistake mortal." Herobrine glared with clenched teeth, now stepping close to her and towering above her with an expression of resentment and disgust. The woman's eyes widened as he reached down and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and roughly yanked her upright to his eye level, her legs dangled as his bright white orbs burned intensely at her. "Notch isn't coming to save you nor any human for that matter, he's certainly not going to stop me and my conquest!

How long has it been since he was last seen by human eyes? Hm?" He tilted his head to the side with a low snarl, his voice tones heavily laced with venom and the threat of looming danger. "Notch has abandoned you damned beings long ago, I'm the god that rules this world now, like it or not what I say goes! What I want I'll take!" He suddenly beamed wickedly. "What I envision will come to pass." He finished darkly with softer tones.

Stephanie writhed in his grasp, a few stray tears streaked down the sides of her face, tears of both pain from the strike and the hopelessness of the situation. "This ... w-world doesn't only revolve around you." She choked out.

"Oh, but it will, soon mortal. In due time. Once I've destroyed your contemptible race and have wiped them all from the plains of existence; I will rebuild this realm how I see fit and shall truly own it, I shall forge a kingdom for all and it will be free of the undeserving ilk that is humanity. Notch's name will fade along with history itself, mark my words woman."

Stephanie shook her head and gasped for breath, the fabric of her jacket dug tightly into her throat from his strong grasp. She never could understand why Herobrine hated humans so much, though she knew most people refused to accept him as divine since he was nothing of the sort despite his power when compared to the creator Notch; but that didn't justify his rage for all of them as a whole or be the only reason. Surely there had to be some who worshipped him out there; albeit in fear. Although maybe if he weren't so violent and would associate with humans a little more often then he'd eventually get a cult following like other legends such as Null, Dreadlord, and Entity.

Herobrine was a being that lacked compassion and relentlessly thirsted for dominion and power over everything, it would seem as if he's always been this way; though maybe not so ambitious or so active from the start. The man was known for his crimes back in the old texts of Minecraftia, they were bad and yet nothing compared to the ones he commits now. He's gotten so much worse and more aggressively progressive in the records since Notch stopped visiting the Overworld, Steph wondered if this absence of a greater power is what fueled the guy to do worse.

Why hasn't Notch returned yet? Why leave this world and his creations in the hands of a dangerous madman who's always hated humans and only ever been known for their destruction? Would he ever come back? Did he truly abandon his creations?

Now Herobrine was far more manic than in the past and his current goals reflected that. He's never done anything of this significant scale before, except during the battle of Frostspire Pass; a mob war in which he slowly began overthrowing the great mob lords of the Overworld almost immediately after their struggle for a massive ravine territory underneath a desolate human colony in the tundras began. He killed the great lords when their armies were weakened and spread too far out, taking the thrones for himself and seizing control and loyalty of the leaderless; only then killed off the mob bosses in the Nether shortly after and gained control of multiple armies of all kinds.

What he wanted now however; was not only detrimental to humans, not just to the mobs themselves either, but actually to himself as well.

Although choking a bit, Stephanie still managed to speak and found a little courage to do so just to warn the man. "Like getting rid of us would bring you true honor amongst the mobs, but in reality, it'll make you a monstrosity to them too. I know the mobs have been fighting us for ages and want us gone, but they are fools. You're so blinded by your hatred and ambition to see the real consequences of your desires for this world; that it would do nothing but hurt it for even the mobs themselves though they are our enemies." Stephanie said with a strained tone.

The man snorted. "I know the consequences, having one less race of beings wouldn't just improve the world, it would do it justice actually." Herobrine countered with heated tones.

Stephanie attempted to glare at him through tightly narrowed eyes, not looking directly into his since the glowing flare was a little too bright to withstand. "Then let's not forget to mention that mobs can only gain true sentience and intelligence through the killing of humans, excluding the Creepers. Your general wasn't always an extremely skilled talking Skeleton archer now was he? It took many kills to get to where he is currently, otherwise, you would have never accepted him as your general. In the legends they say he's one of the few oldest mobs known to man and that he never misses his shot, he only ever got that skill and the ability to speak through slaying humans.

If you decide to end our race then how do you expect any more mobs like him to rise? There are only so few thousand of these special mobs out there that have evolved through wars and individual trials against their human enemies, some mobs must be close enough to gain the ability to speak and they likely will achieve that as you wage war against my kind. But if you wipe us all out then that potential ends, there's only a finite amount of the monsters that can become sentient in doing this, and no more would the boss mobs be able to grow for themselves.

This issue then brings up the potential for rebellion and betrayal, the sentient mobs turning on their lesser counterparts and killing their own kind to evolve knowledge and skill which in itself would cause more wars, wars that this time won't spill in human settlements like they had in the past. I am unsure if they could grow on killing other mobs, but even if they could there's still a chance that they'd eventually turn on you for removing their capability for real growth. And if other powerful legends come after you for control since it's unlikely they'll bend a knee to you, what then? What if all those mobs of yours become turncoats, assuming they don't first wipe themselves out?"

Herobrine's eyes narrowed thinly. "I'd kill them all." He stated darkly. "No creature nor entity will stand in the way of my reign, what I say will be absolute. Is such a simple concept too difficult for your mind to comprehend, human? If some mobs want to get destroyed for opposing me then so be it, even if it's their entire species coming against me; they'll pay the price and perish. It'll make an example to the remaining mobs like I did to a few species in the Aether, an extinction will be in order for those who won't submit.

I am acutely aware that the mobs will lose their ability to grow into boss mobs; 'I' am the reason why such a possibility even exists in the first place. If the growth stops then that is fine by me, I don't need any of them to think that they can become good enough to dare and try to take what is rightfully mine."

"It's easy to understand Herobrine," Stephanie says through clenched teeth, wincing as she moves her hands up and clasps onto his wrist and tries to pull herself up some to breathe a little better. "But can you not see that such an outcome truly has some adverse if not irreversible effects?"

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"How would you know the effects?"

"It's easy to understand these... things... when you spend a lot of time in the books, especially the history books. If all mobs go against you at some point in the future and you wipe out all of them and all... other entities of the world, then what will there be left to rule? What is a title like that of a king if that king rules nothing but a vast world of emptiness? You'd be a king of nothing, one of desolation and loneliness, life for you would eventually become meaningless and hollow. You don't need history books to see that possible outcome, self-isolation would destroy even someone like you."

The white-eyed man growled and jostled the woman about in his grasp a bit, ignoring her quiet yelps and pained expressions. "Listen, foolish human, I have never needed anybody or anything for contentment, a quiet, empty world to me is no different than the one we currently inhabit. Just as long as I erase the filth that you vermin are and sit upon my throne, I care not!" He bellowed.

'He's the fool!' She thought. Can Herobrine not see what a world he'd have if it were truly desolate? He might think it would be fine now, but she knows that even an evil man like him would suffer some level of isolation and probably degradation to his psyche given enough time; being a man of intelligence and immortality with no one associated with him. A quiet world is just a place for one to truly lose oneself in, with nothing to share, not even accomplishments or creations. Just an empty space for one's sanity to slowly erode into nothingness. It's not like he could create his own people to fill the void either, Herobrine has and will always be known as a god of destruction in texts; unlike Notch who was given the title of creator for creation. It's like with Notch not being present there's a huge imbalance and the world is slowly but surely leading down a path of ruination.

"If this world is to eventually become barren then it shall be by my hands, I've never cared for mobs anyway."

Stephanie now looked into his eyes with a look of pity.

"You're s-so full of yourself." The woman sputtered as a dribble of blood from the inside of her busted cheek pushed past the corner of her lips and rolled down her chin as she spoke. What's even the point of his conquest and seizing power over all the mob divisions if it's not to ultimately rule them? Didn't he say he'd have a realm to re-create for them? Or is he deceiving even these creatures just to help him with his dirty work of ridding the world of humans? Herobrine truly was a madman.

Stephanie huffed. "Openly accepting the prospect of being a god and king of nothing, y-you fool."

"Perhaps so, but it is 'my' right to decide all fates of the world's inhabitants since this is 'my' world. As for you... I'm fully aware that I can initiate my plans at any time, but that doesn't mean that I cannot alter them. If I want I could keep you alive after I'm through with you and have slain your brother, I'll lock you away in the Nether to be tormented daily; and that's just one of many possibilities that I can come up with at the top of my head at this moment. Would you honestly want something like that instead? I can and will make it happen. I really should considering you have such gall to talk back to me in such an insolent manner.

Now, if you'd like to go home alive tonight Miss Stonewall, I would suggest that you quiet that tongue of yours and follow as ordered. Do we have an understanding woman? My patience is very thin right now, that much I can assure you."

That threat was indeed far worse, Stephanie reasoned; her eyes widened at the thought. She'd rather be dead than have to suffer torture for the rest of her life in a prison of the fiery dimension. So much for not letting him hold power over her, killing her isn't the worst that he could do. Herobrine is a heartless and cruel man, one undeserving of reverence and respect.

Why did Notch ever leave? Was he gone forever? What if Herobrine said was true about being the only god left in this world now? Why would their creator leave them with this awful fiend? More tears ran down the sides of Stephanie's face as she silently cried, she should have got up as soon as she fell instead of falling asleep and waking up to this nightmare.

"Are you going to comply or not woman?"

Stephanie did her best to nod, not uttering a single word and keeping her eyes glued shut tightly as she grimaced.

The mortal seemed to get the idea and he was content with that for the time being, but now he was pissed off; he hated being reminded of Him. Herobrine lowered the lady back onto her feet on the ground and gave a light glare as he released her jacket and watched her stumble back a few steps. He wasn't in the mood to talk anymore, not in the mood to toy with her even a little like he previously wanted to; all he had now was a headache and a simmering temper that he never asked for. "Stay close and follow, I'll lead you back to your village; otherwise I'll make it to where you'll be begging for death and not be granted it."

His tones were thankfully less harsh sounding now, but that didn't mean that they didn't carry the same threatening weight to them; Stephanie decided to remain quiet and not press her luck. As Herobrine started walking she silently followed and wiped the dampness from her cheeks with her sleeve, it didn't matter where he was leading her at this point; he had some awful ways to punish her if she didn't obey. She just wanted to go home and go to bed, to not think and just get lost in the safe sanctuaries that were her dreams.

Was there even a point to having another challenge now? She wondered despairingly. If it's for 'his' entertainment then she'd have to regardless of whether she wanted to or not, there's no escaping him.

The two ambled through the woods quietly for a while, Herobrine hadn't said much surprisingly, just threatening a few mobs to get out of his way or muttering things to himself now and then. Stephanie followed shortly behind in complete silence, getting more tired as the night dragged on; it was pretty late out and she realized that they were further from town than she had initially thought. It didn't help that her foot was starting to hurt as time passed, it felt like it had an arrow shot into it; which just added to her growing weariness and stress.

Steph softly sighed after a while, keeping her gaze mostly at the ground before her feet and only ever glancing up briefly when something caught her attention or to check where they were, to her relief they were now back in familiar territory. They were close to the village at least, which put the woman more at ease; she longed to lay her head down on her pillow and get much-needed sleep.

Herobrine had been stirring in his quiet rage nearly the entire walk, not only due to his throbbing headache but something he couldn't get out of his head that plagued his mind the entire trek to the village; all because that woman wouldn't shut up. He didn't need reminders.

...

He could see his best friend, his brother, ... his enemy fading away in a consuming light before his very eyes. "Then take me with you brother! Do not leave me!" Hero cried out as he reached a hand towards the vanishing man, his voice tones were filled with fearful desperation. "Please, Notch!"

"I can't Herobrine," The figure in light replied in a remorseful tone. "You're a modification solidified and grounded to this world's code, as a mod you are truly bound to it. ... I- I wish I could... but I can't. I'm sorry. I leave everything to you."

"NOTCH!"

"Goodbye, brother."

...

Herobrine squeezed his fingers tightly into his palms and scowled deeply as those wretched words seemed to echo throughout his mind, a hot uncomfortable pain welled up in his chest. "You abandoned me." He said to himself lowly; just above a whisper with a seething toothy frown.

His sudden voice and tones caught Stephanie's attention, her deep frown lightened a bit as she now stared at his back with a raised brow. "What?" She asked, raising her head and unconsciously forgetting to keep quiet like she was supposed to.

The man growled. "I wasn't talking to you." He replied with a not-so-subtle hint of bitterness to his words, clearly still not in the mood to speak.

Despite her fear, her anger, and her despondency; Stephanie quickly became curious about Herobrine's words. He had been abandoned? By who? Why? Well maybe the reason why didn't seem so questionable considering his disposition and reputation for murder and supremacy, plus he was generally a cold and callous person as far as she could tell. Still, now she couldn't help but wonder about his words and tone. Did he have a companion at one time? Was it possible for someone like him to have family or friends?

Though somewhat perplexed by such a possibility and the fact that Herobrine could even feel such a type of pain at all, Steph decided not to pry for her own sake. She was on borrowed time, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel a little bad for the guy; abandonment was a pain that she and her brother knew all too well. For her own sake, she kept her mouth shut for the rest of the walk back to her village.

As they came across the town Herobrine stopped within the tree line of the woods, though his eyes were on the village houses and guards he didn't appear to be focused on them; only staring at them absentmindedly until the woman finally spoke up. "I'm going now." She says quietly and begins walking forward without glancing at him or looking back.

Herobrine blinked and then closed his eyes for a long moment as the mortal got further away, he folded his arms and exhaled. "I'll be back by the end of the week, you know where to meet for the challenge; where we had first met. Be there by dusk fall. If you don't show up then I'll proceed with my plans, the same goes if you try to escape and leave this place; there's nowhere you can run to for long."

Stephanie stopped in place and let out a long drawn-out sigh, had anything she said not adhered to him? She kept her back to Hero as she spoke. "I will be there, ... though it's practically pointless since I doubt there's any actual way of besting you for a second time in a row, especially if the task is impossible. It'd just be better if you go ahead and get all of this over with instead of leaving me to suffer the thought of my fate and the fates of everyone here, I don't like thinking about it and it's nearly impossible not to.

I spent most of my day on the thought of it. I know that you'll grow bored of these challenges soon enough whether or not I can complete them, so why waste the time to earn more time at all?" She angrily gestured. "But that's right, you're just a heartless, powerful, merciless, elitist that has to have his way. Well, I don't want to be a source of amusement for the likes of you!" She finished more loudly, with narrowed eyes and hands balled up at her sides; her anger flaring again. "I don't know what about me or what I did to draw your attention to me, but I regret whatever it may be. I regret what I did that evening. I should have just stayed home and perished under the attack, maybe then I wouldn't have to deal with this horrible mental affliction."

Herobrine unfolded his arms and his eyes softly narrowed, a deep frown was plastered across his face. "I've slain many before you, many who did not have the time to enjoy what little life they had left. You should consider yourself special in a way, you get another week to do as you will; under most circumstances, many others were not as fortunate as you are now."

She lifted her head and blinked, not believing such nonsense she was hearing. 'This man is impossible.' She thought. "Oh, so you're saying that I'm lucky to be living on borrowed time? Like I'm supposed to be so grateful for that?" She huffed.

"You should be, you should enjoy the rest of your short life. If not then spend the rest of your time wallowing in despair, to me it matters not. If you can't find something to devote the rest of your time to then simply fail the next challenge or concede and accept your fate when the time comes; as a weak-willed human would. One of the things that got me to make and even keep such an agreement in the first place was the impulsive behavior that you had, challenging me despite the vast differences between us. You do amuse me, that much I will not deny. It's the only reason to even allow you to live longer, it's the only reason the miner gets to live longer.

I know you were begging for death for the sake of your brother from the very start, but as soon as a possible way out came along you took it and proved yourself to be an interesting human. I didn't think that you could beat the challenge and yet you proved me wrong, so dedicated and desperate to save that which was of utmost importance to you, so full of determination to succeed and willing to do the unthinkable. I was impressed and entertained, that is why I have spared you thus far, even when you tested my rage and were punished for it just a short while ago; and you're still alive right now.

You want to give up? Fine. However; I know most mortals on the verge of death would do whatever they could with what time they had left. Whether it was to make amends with another or finish unresolved business, even doing what their heart desired before their time came. I've been around for a very long time human, I've seen it all; only the truly pitiable and weak will lie around and wait to die."

"But you don't understand at all how it feels to be in this position I'm in, you don't have to face the expectation of abuse and death! So stop speaking as if you have the right to say how I should feel, how I should behave!" She countered bitterly.

Herobrine stared at her quietly for a long moment and then looked away, seeming to ignore her cry. He then turned around, only giving her a slight side glance from the corner of his eye. "Even a fatally injured sheep with enough strength to move will continue to graze and wander about for food and shelter for days before eventually succumbing to its wounds. Basic instinctual survival is the epitome of motivation, I'd like to think that someone like you would go beyond that simple logic. Don't disappoint me." And with that Herobrine vanished from his spot, disappearing into the night.

"What is that even supposed to mean?!" Her voice echoed about the trees but received no response as silence encompassed her surroundings. The woman let out a loud huff and steadily eased up her posture, her anger slowly but surely fading.

...

Stephanie walked through the door of her home with slow weary steps before closing it behind her and leaning her back against it; standing in the dark and still building as she tried to mentally process everything that just transpired. Softly exhaling and tilting her head up towards the ceiling, the woman briefly closed her eyes and breathed in deeply; relieved to finally be home and able to rest her heavy head and get away from Herobrine.

Her head still ached as did her throat and cheek, she brought a hand up to the side of her face and gently placed her fingers over her tender skin. As expected it hurt to the touch, she was undoubtedly going to have a bruise develop there; something she's going to have to come up with an excuse of how she got such a thing when her brother or friends try to ask what happened to her. That and trying to hide or make up some reason to explain the markings around her neck as well, she can't tell them about Herobrine.

A low meow soon caught her attention and she glanced down to see her orange tabby cat sitting on the floor in front of her and just staring with its emerald-colored eyes as the tip of its tail lightly swayed back and forth. "Oren." She muttered the feline's name with a small affectionate smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she slid down the door until she was now sitting against it; Stephanie opened her arms and motioned the animal over. "Come here." As soon as the cat reached her it began rubbing itself against her leg and then over to her open hand, giving her a quick sniff before dotingly pressing its head into the underside of her open palm. She noticed her small companion taking the opportunity to sniff her a few more times before turning to the side and slowly walking away from her, unfamiliar with another's scent.

"You don't like the smell of horrible immortal strangers? Well, I don't blame you."

Stephanie pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them as she stared into the dark with a frown returning to her face, she wanted to head to bed but she probably wouldn't immediately fall asleep even if she did; she was almost afraid to. Would Herobrine haunt her dreams now? She wondered to herself. He was once famous for that, bringing people to near death by invading their dreams and giving them atrocious nightmares that would cause literal heart attacks in their sleep. She strangely had a feeling that he most likely wouldn't, not with that surprisingly calm demeanor before they parted.

How could such a guy go from deadly threatening, to being charming and almost enticing, to comforting and protective, to arrogant and spiteful, only to go back to threatening and then demonstrating actual violence, then just to end it all on some enigmatic message about a dying sheep of all things? "He is volatile, a little unhinged too."

After several minutes of sitting in silence, the woman pulled herself up off the floor and carefully ambled through the darkness of her living room toward her bedroom; thankfully it wasn't exactly pitch black in the house and her muscle memory helped guide her towards her door. Once in her bedroom she fiddled around in the chest next to her bedside table and found her flint and steel to light up the lamp on the table. With light finally filling her room, she sat on the side of her bed and gazed down at her arms, small splotches of blood stained one of her sleeves; her hands were fine but a little sore from trying to stop the strangulation from her jacket.

With a low exhale, Steph removed one of her boots and then set her leg down and pulled the other up to remove the other boot, but before she could she noticed two large puncture marks in the shoe. There was a decent-sized hole on each side of her boot. She carefully removed it and was met with a surprise, not only was her sock missing, but there were gauzes wrapped around the bridge and arch of her foot; there was a small blotch of red on both sides of her foot as well, just as the puncture marks were in her boot. Now perplexed and slightly concerned since she didn't have this wrapped-up injury when she went out of the village today, she grabbed the gauze and gently unwound the binding around her foot until the lesions were exposed. It didn't take long to realize that these marks were from a large spider's fangs.

But when did this happen?

Surprisingly the small wounds looked rather clean and the pain wasn't all that bad, they appeared to have bled a bit but the gauze helped to limit that. It was then that she also noted some grass stains on the back of her pants, she couldn't have got them there unless she had been dragged. Stephanie then softly gaped as she stared at the marks, confused.

...

"There's no point in running you know, though it is fun to chase and run my targets ragged; I'm not quite feeling up to that sort of game tonight. Judging by your foot, I'd say you'd agree."

...

Wait, Herobrine wrapped her foot? Then did that mean that he saved her from a spider whilst she slept? She must have been so tired that she didn't even register the bite when it happened, either that or the mob injected enough venom to numb her foot a bit. Perhaps both? Did the mob drag her away from where she passed out and the white-eyed man happened to stumble upon her? That could explain why she was not where she first laid her head down. Still, the injuries were taken care of and bandaged, but Herobrine did this?

The woman lightly gaped as she stared at her foot for a short moment, with a soft exhale she began to rewrap the bite marks and pull the gauze taut. There was no explanation, no reason for the Minecraftian legend to do such a thing considering her days were numbered literally by him; but for some reason, she couldn't stop the many thoughts and emotions that whirled about inside of her as she pulled off her jacket and tossed it to the floor.

"For someone so terrifying and violent, he sure has an unexpected rational side to him." 'Is a guy like him too far gone to turn away from his great and horrible ambitions?' Steph wondered as she laid back in bed and pulled the sheets over, she then stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours in thought before falling asleep.