Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

Wither Heart [Impulse]

TW: This is a perma-death AU. There is no respawn.

No romantic relationships. Everyone is good friends.

The title of this story comes from the song Wither Heart by Tryhardninja.

The accursed beast was escaping. It was hissing and thrashing its skeletal body, triple heads scraping against the bedrock ceiling as it fought for freedom. Its ribcage was sharp where his sword had broken it away, leaving chunks on the ground to dissolve with the rest of the monster when he finished with it.

This one was far wilder than other withers Impulse had encountered. It thrashed against the bedrock, frenzied skulls shooting and exploding against the blast-resistant endstone walls. Intermittent explosions rocked the space, sending him reeling away and allowing it to work its way to the tunnel leading back to the surface of the main end island.

Impulse wasn't sure what he expected when he lunged forward to catch onto its spine, wrapping his fingers tightly around the blackened bone. The poison he usually felt from the skull blasts was multiplied at least fifteen times as the spinal processes dug themselves into his hand. He bit his tongue to stop the scream that built up in his throat, slashing the wither with his sword until it finally dropped limply to the ground.

The central head – and the largest one – disintegrated last, blowing away in a cloud of ash. Resting where its cranium had been was the nether star, shimmering and shining brightly against the pale endstone. Impulse placed it delicately in his inventory, groaning as the ongoing wither effect continued to beat at his hit points. He glanced at the statistics on his communicator and gave a small moan as he forced himself to take a bite of a golden carrot. He chewed slowly, forcing it down, hoping it would outlast the wither effect and bring his HP back up. If it didn't, a SOS message would be sent to the Main Chat with his coordinates and location, informing everyone of his situation.

They didn't have many of those on Hermitcraft. Everyone was usually pretty good at avoiding death. Xisuma hard-wired code into the world that automatically put up a shield around a weakened player so others would be able to help before whatever it was took them out. Nobody had died on Hermitcraft in a very long time.

His wish was granted, the throbbing throughout his body fading away as the regeneration properties of the golden carrots took effect. His left hand continued to throb, especially in the places where the bones had gouged holes in his flesh. He examined it with a heavy sigh, taking a water bucket out of his enderchest and emptying it in a one-block hole he hollowed out with his pickaxe.

Impulse bit back another yell as he plunged his hand into the water, washing away the remaining ashes on his palm. The few gashes on his arm underwent similar treatment as he drenched the whole limb, washing away the wither's remains. A quick glance at his t-shirt told him the wither had landed a hit there as well, so he stripped it off and washed the weeping wound in his stomach.

He managed to wrap the wounds before they began throbbing again, the regeneration from his golden carrots wearing off. He munched another one as he packed up his gear, scooping up the water, patching the hole, and shoving his item-form enderchest into his inventory. The agony from the wounds faded away again as he stood on the edge of the bedrock frame, glad to be on the top this time. He smiled, brushing a finger on his nether star, and jumped through the portal.

It spits him out on the bed he'd unceremoniously chucked onto the floor of his storage room, leaving him space to stretch out on the soft mattress before pushing himself to his feet. Blood rushed to his head from the abrupt motion, so he stood rock-still until the sensation passed. He walked as smoothly as he could to the chests, efficiently withdrawing the items it took to make a beacon and carrying them over to the crafting bench.