Council of the Heir

Chapter Fifteen - death loop

applicable image (yes that's me)

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Lydia's eyes drifted open.

She stared at the wall in front of her for a moment before she lifted her head, stretching and wincing when her neck seized up a bit. She was getting too old to sleep with her head turned. She was still in Null's study, and still alone- except for Herobrine, she supposed. The pickaxe remained on the pedestal.

She wondered what he thought of her at this point. He had been present when she had admitted to Null that she knew the future, and that she had intentionally brought Steven and Val into danger. He might be pissed at her. Which, fair enough.

Lydia rested her chin in her palm, studying the pickaxe where it sparkled in the light of the oil lamps. She had written it so that Val, and only Val, was able to see Herobrine- in the first book, anyway. Wraith had been able to see him in the sequel, but that was... barely canon at this point. It seemed like her odds of ever being able to meet Herobrine were very, very low. Unless something happened that was completely outside of her realm of knowledge. It was a disappointment, since he was sure to be a cool guy and also the catalyst of the story, but... what can you do. You make these problems for yourself, apparently.

Lydia drummed her fingers on the desk, glancing around at her surroundings. Maybe she should, like, read a book. How long did Null plan to be gone? She'd even taken a nap.

As she sat and waited, her thoughts drifted back to Notch. He had turned on Null in the original, but that had only been because Valor yelled at him. Here, he didn't know what Null had done. That... could be problematic. Only if he actually got involved, she supposed. From what she knew of him at this point, he was probably more likely to just... stay back and let Null slaughter them all.

The door creaked open, and Lydia spun to find Null stepping through the doorway.

"Oh, hey," she greeted him as he shut the door behind him. "Did you kill him?"

"The son of Herobrine?" Null raised a brow. "No. Not yet. I thought I would deal with you first." Lydia stared at him, a chill settling over her.

"Gotta be real with you chief, that does not sound good."

"I'm sure it doesn't." Null ambled over to the pedestal, lifting Herobrine's pickaxe. "Last chance, soothsayer. Tell me what you know of the future, or I will cut you down where you stand." Lydia hesitated, her gaze flickering over to the sharp point of the pickaxe. She knew that he wouldn't hesitate to follow through on his threat. If she didn't spill, he would kill her, and she would be reset to her new save point from which she had woken up only a few minutes before. On the other hand, if she told him something- not necessarily the truth - maybe she would be able to stall her way to Valor's resurrection.

"Okaaaay," she drawled. "Fine. You've made your point." She nodded to the pickaxe. "So, basically, Valor can't die. Ordinarily you would just kill him and leave him to rot, but then he comes back and takes you down."

"Takes me down, you say?" Null tilted his head. "As I recall, he had very little luck with that several hours ago."

"Yeah, because he didn't know what you could do," Lydia bluffed. "And now that he does, the moment he's free he just obliterates you."

"I see." Null glanced down at the weapon in his hands, then back to her. "That is very helpful, thank you." With that, he advanced towards her with the pickaxe in hand.

"Hey." Lydia took a step back, then backed up to put the desk between them. "What- are you doing, I told you what I know!"

"So you did." Null stepped around the desk, cornering her against the wall. "And I told you that if you did not tell me, then I would kill you. I did not say that I would otherwise leave you alive."