Awaken (Hermitcraft Fanfiction)

XXII. Anger

TW: death, past wars

It'd been days. Perhaps weeks. Time was lost, turning in mindless cycles of day and night. By day, she searched. By night, her sleep was plagued with images of his pale, ghostly face, with no sign of the magic he held within him.

Pearl sent her magic into the server again, searching everything, even unloaded chunks, for Zeroc. Like every day and hour before, she found nothing. Each dimension was the same: empty of his presence. Any searching charms she tried led her back to the soot-stained blocks of spawn. Everything was telling her he was gone for good, and she hated it. It threw her stomach into twists of disbelief every time it occurred to her, and the thoughts occurred every minute.

The memory replayed. The other truth – or lie, she told herself – brought itself to the front again. She refused to resolve it, praying that ignorance would spare her. However, evidence from past attempts said otherwise, and continuing to brush it off was beginning to sting more than she was willing to cope with. Instead of ignoring it once again, she took to the skies.

"Xisuma?" she called, landing in front of his base. Her wings had healed enough she could pull them into her back and use an elytra. The tall sandstone castle, accented with blue and red Nether wood, was impressive for an early-season build. In a way, it resembled a Watcher tower with its reaching spires. The similarities ended there.

The Admin emerged from the side of his base, dripping wet from messing with his kelp farm. The sun dried him off quickly as he approached, shaking water out of his boots one foot at a time.

"You called me?" he checked, holding the door open for her. Pearl nodded, thanking him silently as she stepped indoors.

"I think I know what you want to ask," he started slowly. They fell into an awkward silence as words failed. Pearl's courage crept upward as Xisuma grabbed a pair of chairs and set them in a side room.

"Tell me the truth about my father." The words left her mouth and hung between them in the air as they sat opposite one another.

Xisuma released his helmet, pulling it off his head and running a hand through his hair. For the first time, Pearl could clearly view the scar that ran the length of his face. Its edges were raised, with a darker, lowered patch of skin on the inside. It ran from his brow to his jaw, a jagged, uneven, mark of courage. X took several breaths as he searched for the right words.

"Your father... was what many people call a 'perfect person'. He led strongly and wisely. There was something about him that made everyone love him in a real way. He wasn't always like that. He was still a mortal, and mortals make mistakes."

Pearl toyed with a few strands of hair, twisting and braiding them together, then taking them apart. "What happened?"

Xisuma sighed. "Xalyn."

Pearl's blood ran cold at the sound of the hated name. "What did they do?"

"They were Dominux's first and only apprentice. They were traumatized by the first war, and he was the only one able to reach them. All was well until an accident involving younger Watchers pushed them apart. They didn't speak to each other for a century. Toward the end of their silence, you were born. If Xalyn was showing any signs of coming around, they quickly reversed them."

"He thinks I'm a rival?"

Xisuma shifted uncomfortably, crossing his legs. "Unfortunately, yes. Before you, Dominux loved two people: your mother and Xalyn. Although they grew apart, they both harbored familial feelings for each other. Dominux may have retained his, but I do not think Xalyn did. I believe the second war tipped them over the edge, sending them careening into the path of control and corruption. Nobody alive today remembers what color their magic was before it took them over."