New World [Complete]

Chapter Thirty-Two: Corruption

Herobrine's POV (A/N: Wasn't expecting that, were you? *mischievous grin* Time for dramatic irony!)

I could never tell them the truth - not all of it, at least. I couldn't even think about the truth, the information I withheld. Everyone has secrets. My biggest, darkest secret could never be brought to light. Speaking it - even thinking it - could lead to the Corruption.

The Corruption, as I called it, controlled me. Once it was inside, I couldn't make it leave. Sometimes, I could hold it back. But the moment I lost control, I was helpless. I could only watch as it controlled my body. People know me for my Corruption. People know me for murder and chaos; for anger and rage; for destruction and grief. It caused people to hate and fear me, to banish me. It hurt the people I cared about, using my face as a shield for its true identity. Not even I know the Corrupter. I simply know the Corruption.

It lead to the blank spaces in my memory. It could be a few seconds to a few months - time lost to the blank spaces. I created the blank spaces. After the first few incidents with Corruption, I couldn't handle the guilt anymore. There's no way to apologize for ripping families apart; for burning entire villages; for torture.

Over the years, I've perfected my memory-wiping spell. When I used it on myself, it wasn't yet perfect. I tested its boundaries by blocking out certain events from my own mind. The spell backfired. Instead of locking my secrets in a place that not even I could unlock, the memories were banished to my nightmares. I had to suffer them at night instead.

It could never be brought to the light. I had to avoid all triggers. I had to avoid talking about it - there was no way I could get help. Some things were harder than others. Negative feelings stir up the monster inside me that I call Corruption. Thinking about it can make it awake. The hardest triggers were people. People were the most powerful triggers. The people that were supposedly my family - Raygel, Kitty, and Notch - were triggers I couldn't control. They were triggers that seemed to come back, day after day.

I cannot beat the Corruption. I may have won the battle, but it would always win the war. I had only won a few battles. It only freed me when it tired of me. Sometimes I could prevent it, push it back into the furthest, darkest corner of my mind before it could break free. Rarely, I could stop it at the last moment.

When I first fought Raygel, I won. I stopped the death blow the Corruption was about to strike. Instead, she was imprisoned. Yet her imprisonment was another battle. This time it was a drawn out battle. Every time I saw her, I would see the hatred in her eyes and I knew she was a trigger. So I had to let her go. I released her with no memories. Back then, I thought that she would never find me again; I thought that I would never have to fight so hard again. When we battled a second time, my real self could only watch as my body was forced to hurt Raygel and Kitty. I was forced to watch as Kitty was struck an almost deadly blow. It was a relief when the Corruption lost. Of course, I only got control of my body after I'd been injured, and I chose to run. I knew better that time. I knew they would see me again. So I staredt to resist in small ways, building up strength and courage for when I would need it.

When Corruption kidnapped her, I knew better than to visit her when I held fragile control. I let my minions take care of her and she escaped. I thought it was over then. I thought I would be left alone, finally. I was wrong. They found me. The last time I fought Raygel, the Corruption took over again. It was outmatched, though. I did as much as I could, locked away and forced to watch without much influence. I resisted the Corruption, hoping to weaken it enough for Raygel to kill both of us. As Raygel was going to strike the death blow, Corruption let me free. Perhaps it was an act of mercy. More likely, it didn't want to feel the pain of death. I may have wanted to die, but in that moment I couldn't control the fear, born of years of human evolution, revealed in my eyes. I then saw her hesitation, and I knew I'd made a grave mistake.

Now, being locked in this cell was torture in its own fashion. Every time I saw Raygel or Kitty, I had to focus on my control. Not to mention the negative feelings nearby from all the people who hated me. Giving Raygel back her memories was the hardest thing I'd ever done. The Corruption tried to use the connection to attack her, but I couldn't let it. If the Corruption took me over while I was here, everyone and everything nearby would be destroyed. These flimsy iron bars and that dammed sorcerer's enchantments wouldn't stand a chance in the face of its power. I'd seen the aftermath enough times to know. Too many people would die if I lost control. So I had to stay in control of everything - my words, my actions, my thoughts. I couldn't let the monster loose. Not here, not now.

I had to stay in control.

Raygel's POV

It was frustrating. No knew anything. We had no new leads. The necklace wasn't even similar to Sky and Ant's amulets. The necklace wasn't in any book available to Seto. There was literally nothing we could do.

We were all still living in the castle, and things were generally peaceful. It would be almost comfortable if Kitty, Skylar, Seto, and I weren't looking for a cure for Lizzie. We had found nothing, obviously. It was several months before I did find something. And that something was by accident.

~

I lay in bed, trying to sleep. It was almost midnight and I'd had no luck. Eventually, I let out a long sigh. My throat was parched. I knew this cycle, and I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep. I would get water, have to go to the restroom, and then something else would bother me. Food, getting comfortable, anything as long as I didn't sleep.

So, I gave in. I sat up, swung my legs to the side of the bed, and placed my bare feet on the cold ground. I stood up, only to sit back down quickly as dizziness overcame me. I really shouldn't have skipped dinner. I reached out and caught myself on the edge of the nightstand, cutting my hand. I took a second to catch my breath before turning on the light. I swore aloud when I saw the line of blood across my palm and turned to glare at my nightstand, as if that would help. Instead I noticed something. My blood wasn't on the nightstand. It was on something that rested by the nightstand. My eyes widened in realization as my wound almost instantly began to heat up as if infected.

Crap.

A/N: Cliffhanger!