hermitcraft writing dump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

memories buried in soulsand

the lonesome of the nether was overbearing.

the ghasts wailing over gurgling lava oceans and the hissing magma, the soft, grief-stricken moans of damned souls pleading for liberation in the soulsand, groans and growls of bellowing pigmen, it'd all become more than normal to evil x. he wished desperately for change. he wished desperately for friendship.

evil x actually once had friendship, once upon a time. evil xisuma and wormman, friends til the end. at first, evil x had exploited wormman's friendship for his own emotional profit. eventually, however, the two had become best friends. true friends. and all that was torn away from him come season six.

evil x kicked netherrack under his feet into the lava. he was frustrated. he'd waited so long just for wormman to come back to him, even for a day. or, at least, what could be considered a day in the nether. nothing really slept here besides him. sometimes, not even him. alas, he'd do anything just to see his best friend again.

suddenly, a shrill voice rolled past him. he'd only really heard the guy once before but the voice was so unmistakable it was one of the few things he remembers vividly about the overworld. grian, was it? he seemed to be talking (very loudly) about some balderdash evil x had never heard of. still, he could probably use the hermit to help him get wormman back.

would grian rat evil x out if he called to him? well, he's already far into the nether, so xisuma can't exactly do anything to him. and even if he could, evil x is too desperate for human contact to give a shit.

"hey, you!" evil x hissed, quickly getting grian's attention. the red sweatered architect descended gracefully, landing a few feet away from evil x. he didn't seem to worry too much about evil x's presence, oddly enough.

"hello!" the architect chirped in a fairly chipper tone. "i don't think i've seen you around the server at all. who're you?" he cocked his head.

xisuma hadn't told grian about him? it almost felt like an insult. "i'm evil x. i'm... not actually evil." evil x said, crossing his arms awkwardly.

grian held out his hand for evil x to shake. "well, then! it's nice to meet you! i'm grian!"

evil x shrunk back a little at being offered a hand. he wasn't used to being treated kindly. "that's... nice." he said. realizing grian's patience to complete the handshake may or may not be draining, he offered the wrong hand, inducing a chuckle from the hermit.

"the other hand, silly!" he chirped, pulling his hand away. "it's fine, it's fine. what did you need me for?"

the hermit's enthusiasm was contagious, and ex couldn't stifle a smile from his small mishap. "well, i was wondering if you could help me with something..." evil x started. an "uh-huh" prompted him to continue. "i wanted to ask if maybe you could help me get my friend back..?"

"oh, why wouldn't i? do you have a base anywhere? it makes this whole thing a lot easier." grian inquired.

"i wouldn't call it a base; it's more of a pathetic hole in the side of a hill, but whatever floats your boat." evil x replied, shrugging his shoulders. "it'd probably be easier to walk there; i don't have wings."

"that's cool! it's easier to talk like this anyways." grian answered. "so! what brought you to the nether? i know zedaph moved in closer to the hub because he wanted a hidden base..."

evil x felt his blood freeze in his veins for a moment. this was a question he didn't want asked. "it's... complicated. i can't exactly go back to the overworld."

"i see." the two suddenly stepped close to a roughly terraformed cliffside, which ended quite abruptly, the edge hanging perilously over a sea of bubbling lava. a small cave had been dug out and decorated with a bit of nether brick. a pair of chests poked out.

"don't fall in the lava now, we're here."

[ author's note aka a shitty apology: LOL sorry for updating this for like a month ive been in a bit of a writing funk i'll try to hurry and finish up hippie tango i just put off writing it after the end of the area 77 arc and tango's return tjyfmugjbujm thanks 4 understanding ]