Behind the Legends

The Dwellers

          The lone figure sprinted at a breakneck pace through the dark, daunting cave, with nothing but the torch in his left hand to light the way. He didn't dare slow down even a bit, despite his lugs screaming at him to do so. His feet beat against the block stone floor as he went, echoing throughout the cavern. There was no point in being quiet or trying to be discrete, they'd find him anyways. The only remote hope he had as that it may not follow him up to the surface. That's all he could hope for as he heard the sounds of blood curdling shrieks from far down the cave, where he had been minutes ago.

          This should have been an easy expedition. A quick and safe decent down into the caverns, find out what had been making those "scary noises", and then get out. The descriptions didn't even begin to explain just how horrific the sounds were though... the screams, the wet sounded splashes and crunches, the howling. And when he had finally laid eyes on the creature; if you could even call it that; he had regretted this whole idea all together. It was at least 4 blocks tall, meaning double his own height. Its limbed were thin and lanky, its body thin and saggy. Its jaw was triangular, with long, sharp teeth and a thin face. And when it moved it did so with no rhyme or reason, sometimes sprinting and running, sometimes crawling, and even sometimes seeming just to flop violently forwards.

          He was snapped back to his now horrifying reality by the sound of more shrieking, this time even closer behind. He was running on stone now, having left the deepslate behind sometime during his thought process. He was close, so, so close! He just had to keep running! He looked over his shoulder, and if he could get any more scared, he would have. In the dark far behind, he could see two glowing dots getting closer... wait no, two sets of eyes. There were more of them! He looked ahead of him once more, his eyes full of pure panic, and took on a new burst of speed. Just a minute later, he burst out of the gaping cave entrance, took a few more steps, and collapsed to the ground. His chest was heaving, his vision near blurry as he rolled over, his arms and legs sprawled out, looking up to the night sky.

          "You're quests for knowledge really are an issue sometimes, Elder Red." He said to himself. He had developed a sort of habit of doing so, like any explorer making a mental log of the things they find and discover. He closed his eyes, feeling his pulse just begin to return to normal, when he heard another shriek. He snapped his eyes open, leaping to his feet, and pulled out his netherite spear, clutching it in both hands. The scream hadn't come from the caves, and it hadn't sounded like the one's from the cave either. It was more monotone and throatier, like a sort of pained bellow. He scanned around with his eyes, looking between the tall spruce trees. He didn't see anyth-

          He was flung into a tree as something heavy rammed him like a bull, falling to the ground on shaking legs, gasping for breath and gritting in pain. Where had had just been standing seconds ago stood a hunched over beast, seeming to twitch like a wild animal. It had the same bodily shape as the creatures from the cave, although this one was a black so dark it looked like it was made from void matter. Its teeth were glowing a bright white and seemed to be dripping with fresh blood. It just stood there, looking right at Elder Red with its glowing, dead eyes. That was until Elder Red's eye flicked to the side, looking for a way to escape. The creature cried out, got on all fours, and charged for him at full speed. Elder Red dived to the side, the creature going right through the two-block tree like it were tall grass. He leaped up from his sideways roll, although he only made it a few blocks before the two cave creatures leaped out of their dark caverns and landed in front of him, both having different, yet similar shrieks. The one with the triangle mouth was a muddy brown color, now that he could see it in the moon's light. The other was a deep bloody red, and it seemed a bit thicker than the other two. It also seemed to have no joints, its limbs and head crooking in ways no living thing should be able to move. These things... Elder Red could hardly process his body movements with how much fear was pulsing through his soul.

           The pitch-black figure returned behind him, and he swung his attention to it. As soon as he did, the other two creatures howled out, rushing forwards. His head swing back to them, and the pitch-black figure also scratched and charged at him, all three mouths wide open and eyes a blaze. Time seemed to move in slow motion, Elder Red twisting to the side and lifting his spear, while pulling his pickaxe out with his other hand. He couldn't block all three, only two... either the red or brown one would get him, no matter what he did. He wished the Balancers would show up... or the Celestials... or the judge figure... but he knew no one knew where he was. This was it... he had let his Red Steves and his fellow Elders Down. He gritted his teeth, preparing to feel sharp nails and teeth digging into his dark red skin. 

          Ice shot out from the trees, catching the two cave beasts by their legs. Without questioning the miracle, he turned on his heals and swung both spear and pick at the forest figure, narrowly block its ram like attack. It toppled to the side, again getting on all fours and screaming. Elder Red jumped back, readying himself. Out from the trees slid a Steve he had never seen before. They were a stark icy blue, seemingly covered in patches of snow. 

          "We have to get out of here! There's no killing these things!" Subzero said, sounding just as scared as Elder Red felt. Just as he did speak, the two frozen dwellers ripped their own legs off, which instantly seemed to grow back, with the old ones still lodged in the ice. Elder Red nodded, his netherite gear lighting on fire as he tapped into his Red Steve powers. An icy mist surrounded SubZero's hands, as the two opposing elements faced off with the three dwellers, who were shrieking and shaking violently. They couldn't win... they just needed a chance to escape. The last time Eldre Red had talked to Balance, he had just defeated Psychotic... he refused to die without repaying that unpayable deed, to Balance, and the other Balancers. He and this icy Steve... they needed to see the sun rise.