Herobrine X Reader - Love's Wither Rose (COMPLETE)

7 - Silver Glint

I didn't see the vex's dagger that skimmed my cheek, or the axe before it barely missed my head. The snapping of jaws as they burst from the floor was more than enough to get me moving again.

For a moment, all I heard was the frantically steady beat of my feet on the mansion's wooden floor and my pounding heart in my ears and my rugged gasps for breath. Blood dripped down from the cut on my cheek, leaving an all-too-familiar metallic taste in my mouth.

I rounded a corner, instinctively ducking and rolling away from another vindicator as he swung his axe. I didn't stop. I couldn't stop - not if I wanted to live.

A window stood at the end of the hall. That was my way out! I willed my legs to carry me faster and faster as I ran.

Come on...

So close...!

Just a little -

Crunch!

The wind was knocked from my lungs. A searing pain exploded just below my ribs. I looked down.

An axe. The head of a gleaming, iron axe now drenched in my blood wedged deep into my torso. My eyes followed the handle, then up. I held the gaze of a vindicator and something like satisfaction or glee flashed in his eyes as he ripped the weapon from my body.

The force threw me to the ground, struggling in vain to fill my lungs, coughing up blood. I fought my way through the pain and blurry vision as I weakly got to my feet.

I didn't want to look back. I had to run. My mind was still focused on that window.

So close now.

Agony gripped me from my ankle, causing me to fall again. My vision flashed white and I couldn't muster the energy to cry out. One of the evoker's summoned jaws had latched itself onto my lower leg, tightening its grip even after the bone snapped and crumbled.

The same vindicator stood over me, glaring down with a smirk. I haltingly breathed out a particular choice of words directed at him. The vindicator chuckled and raised his bloodied axe.

And brought it down hard.

<•••>

I shot up from my bed drenched in cold sweat, gasping for air, clenching my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. I looked down at my front, slowly lifting my shirt to just above my ribs, before glancing to my leg. No wounds.

"Just a nightmare," I whispered to nobody. "Just a nightmare."

The red light of dawn bore into the room through the window, giving everything a Nether-like glow. A lonely petal fell from the flower in the pot atop the bookshelf, gliding to the floor in a sort of blissful tranquility. (D/N)'s tail thumped lazily on the bed as he dreamt, paws twitching as if he were running.

It must be nice, I mused. To not have a care in the world? Oh, what I wouldn't give for that.

The grim details of the dream slowly faded from memory as the morning light grew. I watched the sunrise from where I sat on my bed, absent-mindedly running my fingers through (D/N)'s coarse fur. Eventually he opened his eyes and stretched, yawning loudly and rolling onto his back. Time for belly scratches. And soon time to get up.

<•••>

Stone crumbled under the impact of my pickaxe. Behind it, a dull silver glint, reflected by the torchlight.

More iron. Still, you can never have too much of it.

I mined out the vein (four pieces of ore) and filled in the hole in the ground with some excess stone. Starting a strip mime was certainly the most effective way to gather important ores - namely diamonds.

I hadn't much luck yet, though. Even with my pickaxe enchanted with Fortune III, I had only managed to collate five diamonds after half a day down in the mines.

My arms ached, especially when I relaxed to take a break. I must have been miles from home.

"Who knew that you could get so far just by digging straight?" I muttered to myself. After checking the contents of the shulker box I brought, I added, "And who knew that diorite would take up so much space?"