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

17 - The Calm Before the Storm

"Let's get going, shall we?" Blythe folded his hands behind his back and led the way down the corridor.

As I watched him go, I noticed Za - Alden's - apprehension from the corner of my eye. A long moment passed where the piglin creatures shifted uneasily, as if their own morale was directly linked to Alden's. Soon enough, however, he motioned for the piglins to follow, dragging the three of us in tow while Alden marched ahead.

I heard the portal before I saw it at the end of the hallway. Blythe stood beside it, bathed in a violet glow much the same as the walls around us. He waited for us to catch up before stepping through and vanishing into the swirling fog without a word.

I heard a grunt beside me as Herobrine was thrown forward onto the ground. Now that I looked at him, I could see the veins in his arm plainly visible through the grey-toned translucency of his skin. My stomach churned. Wither Affect?

Alden held the knife to Herobrine's back and I swore I saw his hand trembling. "Go on."

Herobrine didn't move. Alden nodded shortly to the piglin behind me.

"Alright then. Send the...obscene one through," he said.

The piglin grabbed Johnny by the scruff of his neck. He shouted a string of curses at both the piglin and Alden as he was thrown into the portal fog.

Alden turned back to glare at Herobrine, who kept his gaze fixated intently on the ground.

"Remember our deal on your cooperation?"

"You're bluffing - we both know you wouldn't," Herobrine said; I could see beads of sweat dripping from his hair.

Again Alden nodded to the piglin behind me. My heart began to hammer frantically in my chest and I fought to keep my breathing even as it shuffled closer. It gripped my broken arm firmly in its hoofed hand, causing me to yelp in pain. Tears stung the corners of my eyes, though I bit the inside of my cheek and refused to let them fall. Like hell I'd let Alden use me as a damn bargaining chip.

"Don't! Please," Herobrine rasped, now staring wide-eyed between me and Alden. I scowled at the desperation in his tone. "I'll...I'll go through."

The piglin released my arm as the other one shoved Herobrine towards the portal. As he stood shakily and stumbled forwards, he cast a glance back at me. I refused to meet his eye.

Not after what you did, I thought bitterly.

Once Herobrine had disappeared through the portal, Alden came and crouched down a few feet away from me. He looked at me with something almost like remorse leaking into his eyes. They seemed to have a slightly blue-ish tinge to them that certainly wasn't there when I knew him before.

I suppose we all eventually change in some way or another.

"You're right," he said, shifting his gaze downwards. "People do change. For example, I can read thoughts now, (Y/N) - like words on paper. That's certainly something that changed about me.

"And you - hell, you're changed too," he continued. "For the better, that is. You're stronger than you were when we last saw each other."

I shook my head, feeling a lump begin to form in my throat. "Just tell me," I croaked. "Why didn't you come back?"

"I..."

I stayed silent, hoping to urge him on.

"I told you - it wasn't as simple as that."

A long moment of heavy silence filled the room. The kind of silence that's filled with words dancing in the back of your throat that don't know how to preform in front of an audience.