Bound to Darkness

Messages (Chapter 6)

The first time I noticed something weird, I was sneaking into Mumbo's base to egg the place. I had gently shoved the door to his underground bunker open, eggs ready in hand, when he was there.

I jumped back, pulling the door closed to hide. My heart was pounding as I waited to hear him shout at me, chase me, something.

But he didn't.

I slowly pushed the door back open to see Mumbo standing in the corner, staring at this door. His eyes were somewhat glazed over, his breathing light and steady. It was like he was asleep, but staring right at me. I yeeted out of there before he could wake up to see me.

"It's called going AFK," Impulse explained to me when I asked. I had been buying a pass for iTrade when the topic came up.

"What?"

"It's like a sleep state. Keeps farms active, but you don't have to. He'll wake up after a preset timer goes off, meaning he'll be alert again soon enough."

"Oh... cool."

"So you want to buy some iLoot boxes?"

From that day on, I saw people AFK all over the place. Mostly Mumbo, who tended to trap himself in boxes to keep himself from dying to monsters that would attack.

One of these instances happened as I was once more going to egg Mumbo's bunker. He was stood in his corner, completely oblivious to the world around him.

"Every time I come by here," I spoke to him, laughing, "You're AFK."

I walked around him, humming a tune to myself. "Mumbo Jumbo you are AFK... I'm gonna take that moustache away... Mumbo Mumbo Jumbo AFK... I'm gonna take that moustache away."

I snapped back, grinning madly. "Oh, wait... I might have just gained my goal for now."

With one toss of an egg I dashed out of the bunker, plans already forming for a possible way to remove a moustache.

~

Being the evil one of the Server always felt... lonely. Sure, he loved causing chaos with pranks, but... was that really what constituted someone as 'evil'?

Wow, that red-sweatered gremlin was getting to him, wasn't he?

He had no real... memory before coming into Hermitcraft as Evil X. No name from before, no identity other than being Xisuma's other half... nothing was his if it wasn't evil or cruel.

He was blamed for everything, yet always brought back for a new Server. Was he just a scapegoat? Was that all he could ever be?

He sighed, looking at the table of potions and notes. He kept working, determined to maybe do one thing right.

He didn't notice the person watching from the shadows as he worked through the night.

~

I returned to my base, crates of concrete stored safely into my inventory, only to see a single chest in the center of my ground floor. Curious, I opened the chest to see a simple book within, along with lots of lapis.

Dear newest member of Hermitcraft

ConCorp has take notice of several shops throughout the district, selling items that are a necessity to any Hermit with big builds. We here at ConCorp admire your entrepreneurship, but will warn you now.

If you ever attempt to undercut the ConCorp, you will have more to worry about than simply restocking your chests.

This is your first warning.