Fallacy of Yesterday [A HermitCraft Fanfic]

Prologue

The void hummed,
It's breath stuttering as it's cool hands traced over the intrusions.
Nothing made it long in the void, at least, nothing that needed breath and blood, so, if the void was to ever simulate an emotion, confusion would be at the top of its list.
As it is, the being in the void remained unaware of the beings blight, their fingers intertwined in a white knuckled grip, pale off white armour the only protection against the nothing bearing down on them.

Unbeknownst to the void, the group of being was known as the Boatem Crew, the same beings that for the past year had been casting many things into the voids depths, Goats, Llamas, even their own selves.
Nevertheless of who or what, the Void wasn't overly concerned about their presence, just a speck of colour in the ichor.

Grian, his wings fluffed, pressing against his back, at the familiar tug of the lovecraftian void, huffed. Having spent more time in the void then any regular player, burning magic enabling the addiction of nothingness, was privy to the voids feelings and thoughts.
The last time he had traveled between worlds via the abyss it had been a lot more disgruntled, complaining about the rocket of Diamonds he and the other Architects left in its depths from season six, even as they head to season nine the avian doubts they'll ever collect it.

Glancing around at the others, he smiled, eyes catching Scar's as the man avidly explains how they'll arrive in the next season, next world.
If not for the sudden development of the moon's disposition, Grian is sure, Xisuma would have organised for the more offical transportation, the clean cut portal customarily used for seasonal updates.
Even then, Grian muses, he would have taken the void. He would have brought Pearl along with him.
None of other hermits either noticed or cared enough to point out how the red-clad Avian hadn't used a single update portal, every season taking the objectively more dangerous path, risking certain death via the void.
Pearl would understand, but neither of the ex-Evolutionists felt like explaining the reasoning behind the vitriol towards the acidic purple that gave and took as it pleased.

Leaning back, Grian absentmindedly fiddled with Mumbo's course hands, redstone dust spreading between the two instantaneously.
"So, Mr Jumboleo," the helmet warped his voice, but the cheer and foe tease carried easily amongst the group,
"Now that we're moving to a new world, what's your stance on peace, love and pants?"
He grinned at the huff,
"Plants. And I'm warning you now Grian, if you flood with my base with trees again I will feed you to a Drowned."
Impulse laughed, his voice hearty,
"Wasn't that his entire introduction to HermitCraft though? I could hear G-man complaining... and oddly singing, about Drowned from the other side of the shopping district for the first few weeks."
"Well he'll be singing about me then!"
"Already do Potato boy" the sound of a hand lightly whacking a helmet filled the space.

Pearl laughed, her eyes dancing with a bittersweet joy, it wasn't often the group found time to hang out together, even if it was under grim circumstances at least they were happy.

"Speaking of Season six," Grian's attention turned to Impulse, hesitant on his words, "do you remember the time machine?"
"From the Hippy war with Area77? Yeah, why?"
"Well, I forgot to bring this up, but when we ended up in Alpha, I mentioned some friends of mine that were stuck in a similar era?" The three other Boatem members glanced around, having not heard of this 'time trip',
"Well, Pearl here is actually one of them, we were in a server together before HermitCraft."
"I still think red suits you better then that green you were always scampering around in," Pearl snorted, fond, unfortunately, rare memories of the Grian Empire and EVO playing through her mind.

Scar points between the two, with an expression off epiphany,
"AHA- That's why you two knew each other when X introduced Pearl and Gem!"
Grian nodded, chuckling, as Impulse hummed contemplatively,
"As cool as that story is, what brought it up?"

Grian faltered, subconsciously shaking out his fingers to get rid of the numb buzzing, increasing in pressure.
"I-... don't know, I guess I'm feeling nostalgic?"
Why had he brought it up?

Something wasn't right.

Pearl rolled her eyes, the glass of her helmet glinting in the nonexistent light,
"What, you missing the fact that you're not allowed to blow up other's bases anymore?"
Mumbo gasped,
"Not allow- he still does it! Just last month he stood cackling as we- he- I- he blew up a tree!"
"Oh no- you haven't seen Grian, the Emperor of the Grian empire, you had to double check everything you owned with him around, he dug a tunnel under all the Evolutionist's bases and then booby trapped it so when it was discovered it blew up everything in it sky high, it was bedrock level and it still rocked Downtown EVO with the force."

The buzzing against his hands moved along his arms, cold yet warm, like when running a fever, it wasn't a feeling, yet also not the lack of feeling. His mouth tasted like he'd eaten TV static.
When had the void grown so quiet.

Distantly, Grian was aware the other's conversation had moved in, bets at how quickly Scar would die in the new world, build ideas.
The void was silent.
They weren't alone.
Something was with them.

Pressure pushed against his skin, needles soothing behind his eyes.
Casting his gaze away from the Boatem survivors, Grian let his mind seep, the power forced upon him years ago slowly soaking the void around them, searching for the root of discomfort.
It was like smelling something in a market, something without a name yet it brought back a memory.
Why was he remembering his trip in Season Six, both Ren and Impulse had been with him during that period yet Impulse him self seemed content without a growing sense of déjà vu.
What was different?
Something that quieted the void, something that was familiar with his blood, his position in the universe, something that knew the meaning behind 3rd Watcher of Server Evolution.
Something, dangerous, was with them.
Dangerous and Old.

The stars in the void gleamed distantly, dimming , not in fear, more in a want to be uninvolved, when Gods fought it was better to look away then to gawk.
Gods?

He wasn't sure when he had let go of the others hands, the burning static now bubbling in his chest. A long time ago, Grian learned, there were no such thing as stars.
A lesson beaten well into him with cutting words that made no sound, under the eyes of gods that viewed humans as playthings.
Now, as his stares into the only two glowing orbs that remain,
Watching as the, last, two stars blinked at him, eyes, he wasn't sure how he forgot.

Of course, neither Ren or Impulse had been there when Grian had stumbled across him, it. five years was long for a mortal, but the being that held two stars as eyes, it's humanoid features masking its raw power, was no mortal. The pressure dragged ice claws down his throat, metallic crimson pooled from Grian's nose and dripped over his lips, breath stuttering as he watched the glass of his helmet, quiver, silver cracks dancing along it surface.
Something was about to go immeasurably wrong.
The void remained silent.
,
,

Pearl turned her gaze back to Grian, her friend having let go of her hand a while ago, opening her mouth, she paused.
The void around her buzzed loudly, as if it had suddenly started to make noise again after a period of silence, a weird thought as it had been humming at a constant volume the entire time. A feeling of forgetting something pressed against her temple, cool and unsettling.
Glancing around the darkness she turned her concerned gaze to the other three.
"Guys? Where did Grian go?"

The stars watched on.
'Herobrine Has Joined The Game'

———
A/N:
Hey guys, this is actually a rewrite of an old fic I wrote called 'the luck of yesterday' (the fic is still up if you want to read the original)
All the art in this fic will be drawn by me unless stated otherwise

I'm going to get it out of the way and let you guys know that this probably isn't going to have regular updates, I will attempt to update this at least once a month but that's probably not gonna happen,
Never the less I hope you guys enjoy this anyway, your support and comments mean a lot to me