Hero's Bane

Chapter 53: Isn't Worth The Risk

"Li-onel." Steve softly muttered as he returned to consciousness, he saw a story unfold out of the blackness of his mind; from seeing through someone else's eyes and watching a familiar man get reckless in fighting a horde of mobs, to saving the poor armored guy from being killed, and it later ended with a long conversation with the feeling of happiness to it's finest. He couldn't explain what was going on then, but as he started to wake; he could think more clearly. It didn't feel like a dream. It was almost real, but the entire time it was out of someone's perspective; two names quickly came to mind and he opened his eyes and looked up.

"Herobrine?" Steve weakly moved a hand up to his face and rubbed his dry and irritated eyes, he still felt too weak to move so he remained in his lying position and used only a little energy to turn his head enough to see up a small platform that stretched outwards and up. It appeared to be made of Nertherbrick slabs. A top of four of these neatly stacked brick layers was a tall chair that also looked like it was made out of the same brick, but it was slightly darker and carved out with precision. It had perfect carvings of a unique design with a block of pure gold just behind it. It was sort of the kind of a royal throne you'd see in a castle or a fortress of a ruled province, it was fascinating and that was for sure, but his eyes soon fixated on the one who occupied the chair. The white-eyed being was seated perfectly upon the well crafted throne and leisurely rested one arm on the armrest while his other held up his head.

The miner slid one arm underneath his chest and pushed himself up, he used the other to balance himself as he now swayed in his partiality lifted position.

"Don't move." Came a calm voice in the man's head.

Steve quickly froze in place from the voice.

"You are still very weak. I would advise you to remain still, at least until you regain enough energy to move."

The miner found himself lightly nodding but remaining silent, not sure of what he should say first. The last he remembered was being in that dark room and putting up with the torment it caused and then later having the souls trying to drag him into the sands with Herobrine trying to keep him out of their grasp and telling him that the trial was over. He then said that he trusted him and that was when he flew straight into the side of the portal frame and everything was blank after that. But then there was that dream.

"It is no dream mort-... Steve." Herobrine corrected. "I had found myself lost in a memory in attempts to remember what trust was, you apparently invaded it and saw through my eyes." Herobrine lifted his head from his coiled hand and rested the arm along the chair's armrest like his other. "Is that what happened? I was too focused on the memory that I might have dragged you into it, it's not the first time though."

It definitely wasn't the first, Steve did remember being dragged into one where the old hero had been chained to a stone column and was repeatedly tormented by the angry crowd around him, taking their attacks and words of resentment... twice. One from Herobrine's point of view, to his own view from a huge crowd. Then there was a time when he saw Lionel trying to defend his friend after apparently fishing the guy out of the lava, he later saw the aftermath of that and it was heartrending to watch the sentinel die in that manner. There was another of watching Herobrine fall into the Nether and then roll into lava from fire bombs that the giant flying mobs had spat at him. Then there was that memory of watching the ancient man trying to save Connor, he watched as the being lost control of himself to see nothing but white until Lionel stopped the rampage. So seeing Herobrine's recent memory was just one of a growing mass, the more Steve saw; the more he understood about the being's past. There still was some things he didn't know yet about the powerful man.

"Putting aside of the memories I wish not to recall; I can say that I have a little recollection of what trust really is, therefore you are no longer a prisoner and are free to walk around once you are capable of doing so. But-." He quickly added as the miner was about to speak. "You will remain here alive in the Nether until I decide when your time has come, once I have no further need of you then I'll make it swift. That you at least deserve."