Redemption (A Hermitcraft AU)

Chapter Fifteen: Grian

I think I'm putting these out too fast...

NAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

I just have a lot of motivation for this book, okay?

I put a new twist on Watcher magic! I hope you guys like it :D

WC: ~900 (SHORT! WHOOPS)

Enjoy!

Grian was trapped. He was stuck in the darkness, the glitches, the distortion, the magic, he was sinking in his own mind. It was like wading through quicksand, like swimming in tar, except the world was dying around you.

"H̴͍̲̯̙̱̎̀̉́̆͑͊͜e̶̾́̊͌͋͊ľ̷̔̿̾̍̂̍̕̚͘͠p̷̛͖̳̃̀," Grian choked out, his voice distorted and glitchy. It was like a voice changer, except it was so. Much. More. Real. He wasn't sure how this had happened. It didn't matter. All that mattered was escaping. 

Grian pressed against the walls of his being, his mind, his world. Where was the world? Was this broken land his world now? 

N̸̛̫ô̸̢͉̗̫̊́͛̍,̶̲͛͝͝͝ ̵̹̻̮̾̆ñ̴̪͉̝͋̈́̀̅͠ö̶̖́̇̚ͅ,̷̳̼̉ ̴̢͈͍̅n̵̡̛̯͖̊̂̀ọ̵̧͕̄͊̈́̌̈́͒͜, Grian told himself, pushing harder. What he was really pushing against was anyone's guess. But he knew that pushing against the glitches would help.

Right?

Purple swirled around in the darkness. The familiar purple of his magic. It twisted through the air, spiraling around Grian. The Watcher felt his body turn with the magic. It surrounded him, spinning playfully. It was refreshing, reviving, it washed away the glitches and the pain. Grian relished the magic, held on to it, cherished it. It flew throughout his entire body, from his head to his toes to his wingtips. It sent a warmth throughout him, leaving him feeling better than ever.

Where did you come from? Grian thought, staring at the magic inside of him.

Nowhere, yet everywhere. I am who I am, and my world is breaking. Why not save yours?

Grian lurched away from the magic. He hadn't expected it to answer. The magic spoke in an odd voice, like a whisper in one's ear.

We share a world, Watcher. But it is crumbling.

The voice was familiar, yet it felt as if Grian had never heard it before.

Go back. Don't push. Pull. Pull it in.

The magic vanished.

Grian, although confused, followed its instructions. The minute he started fighting his consciousness, the migraine returned. Grian ignored it, pulling in the darkness. Pulling in the returning glitches. He didn't know what he was doing, but...

"Grian!" Mumbo's voice was the first non-whispy, non-glitchy, not-his-own voice Grian heard. Grian slowly opened his eyes, ignoring the pain in his head.

"What happened?" Grian's voice was crackly. His vision slowly adjusted.

There were two figures. Mumbo and... Xisuma? Mumbo's face was tearstained and worried. Xisuma was unreadable, as always.

"I came back to the island," Mumbo whispered. "You were huddled on the ground. I was talking to you, but you didn't respond. Your face was twisted in pain, it looked like you would just drop dead any moment." Mumbo shuddered at this. "All of a sudden, you screamed. Like, before, it was silent. Silent tears. Silent pain. But then you release this blood-curdling scream and go limp. I thought you had died." Mumbo paused, and guilt washed over Grian.

"Erm, I stayed with you for a while before bringing you to the beds here in the house. I fell asleep, and I think you did too. But I woke up to the sound of even more screaming. You were yelling, sounding as if you were being stabbed, there were tears flowing down your face, everything. I panicked and messaged Xisuma, who came. But, by the time he got here, the screaming already stopped, and you looked as if you weren't in pain anymore. Rather the opposite. Then, your breathing started regulating, before being in a choppy and uneven pattern. Then, well, here we are." Mumbo gave a small smile as he finished his story. Grian was dumbfounded.

"Want to tell us what was happening on your end?" Xisuma asked. Grian winced.

"It felt like I was... glitching?" he explained. "I was trapped in my own mind. I was glitching and in pain. A lot of pain. Then a voice in the form of my magic came to me and told me how to escape. And here I am."

Grian expected the expression of skepticism and confusion that was pasted on Mumbo's face.

Xisuma was unreadable.

"A voice?" Mumbo's voice was suspicious. "Grian, mate, are you sure you weren't dreaming?" 

"Even if I was, how would my subconscious know how to escape when I didn't?" Grian argued. "The voice told me how to escape. I didn't know how to." 

"Did you recognize the voice?" That was Xisuma. Grian concentrated, trying to remember the exact way it spoke.

"Yes, but no," he replied carefully. "It's familiar, but I can't put my finger on who or where I've heard it. It also mentioned that we 'share a world', so I must know them. Right?" Xisuma nodded carefully. 

"Mumbo, can you leave for a moment?" the Admin's request was unexpected. Mumbo gave a confused blink, then obeyed. Once he was gone, to Grian's shock, Xisuma reached up and pulled off his helmet.

Xisuma looked like a fairly normal person. He had goldish brown hair, indigo eyes, but his most notable feature was a prominent scar that crossed his face in the shape of an 'X'. Xisuma narrowed his bluey-purple eyes, stared at Grian, then slipped his helmet back on.

"Can I ask what that was for?" Grian spoke up.

"Nothing," Xisuma replied, although his voice sounded forced. "Forget I did anything." 

And without another word, Xisuma slipped out of the house to go get Mumbo, leaving Grian perplexed.

He's not saying something.

But what?

Yes, the ending was slightly rushed. I'm sorry. *epic sigh*

-Storm