THIIIIIISSSSSSSS TOOOOK FOREVERRRR
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Warnings --->
WC: ~1100
Enjoy!
"I don't understand," Impulse murmured after a couple of moments of silence. "How- OH. OHHHH!"
Iskall grinned at him. "Now you got it."
"Guys, check this out!!" Hels called out when he dropped into the headquarters from a trip to another branch. Iskall and Impulse glanced up to see him holding... a pot?
The cauldron-type-thing had purple markings on it and an indent on the side. Impulse had no clue what it could possibly be, but it certainly looked cool.
"This," Hels breathed. "Is a Respawn Anchor."
"A what?" Iskall laughed. Hels put it on the ground and pulled something out of a little pouch that he had put inside the caul- Respawn Anchor.
"This is glowstone," Hels continued. The stone he was holding was small, the same size as Impulse's fingertip. It was yellow and emitted a soft glow. "It's very rare, so we only have a little." Hels knelt down and pushed the glowstone into the slot on the Anchor. The Anchor lit up and made a sound, startling Impulse a bit. It also seemed to... fill up. With the same substance that was in Nether Portals.
Hels dipped a hand in the Anchor, and it made another sound. He then took Iskall's hand and dipped it in, another sound was made. Finally, he took Impulse's hand and dipped it in. It was warm and felt like a Nether Portal.
"Now," Hels explained. "If any of us die, we'll respawn. Come back to life. It's one extra life, shared between the three of us."
"That's impossible," Impulse pointed out.
"So is generating electricity from nothing," Hels smirked. "And using the smallest amounts of coldness to make ice. And pulling heat to oneself to get fire."
"Okay, fair," Impulse sighed. "So... if I jumped off the ledge and fell into the lava, I'd... come back to life?"
"Respawn," Hels corrected. "I'm not sure how it really works, but it is functional. Don't test it though, we don't have enough glowstone to play around with it. This is an emergencies-only thing. Got it?"
Impulse and Iskall nodded, clearly excited by the idea of respawning.
The Respawn Anchor stayed in the corner of the main room, only revisited when Grian came, but mainly forgotten and unused.
Until now.
"Iskall..." Xay's voice was soft. "I'm sorry, but-"
"No, no!" Impulse cried, a smile creeping across his face. "Hels is actually alive!!"
"Grian, do you remember the Respawn Anchor?" Iskall asked.
"The what-" Xay said.
"OH!" Grian squeaked at the same time. "You're right, he is alive!!"
"I'm lost," Xisuma mumbled. Xay nodded his agreement.
"We'll explain on the way there," Impulse said with another smile.
This has been quite the emotional rollercoaster-
Let's hope this happy high lasts.
Hels had never been in so much agony in his life.
One thing that the Head of the other branch failed to mention was that respawning hurt.
A lot.
Dying also hurt, especially being crushed with a tree.
The best way Hels could describe it was like being squashed with a bunch of bricks, then being electrocuted, then having all of your limbs torn off your torso, then being punched to death while your limbs were being sewn back on with knives instead of needles.
It wasn't pleasant.
Somehow finding out how to control his body, Hels slowly blinked his eyes open, crying out softly from the pain.
I remember pushing Xay out of the way... then all black. Like I fell asleep. Then pain, and now I'm here, Hels recalled.
I hope they remembered this Anchor existed.
And then, suddenly, the agony stopped.
Hels exhaled, stretching one arm out and flexing his fingers. Wiping the tears that he hadn't even realized were streaming down his face away, he slowly, shakily, stood up. After taking a couple of deep breaths, still shocked by the speed of his recovery from the agony, Hels snapped his fingers, smiling at the flame that came.
I hope they'll come.
I hope they'll remember.
Or else I'm going to have to go get them.
And that didn't end so well last time.
"HELS!!"
Hels's head snapped up at his name, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. Grian was the first to rush forwards, and he buried his face in Hels's chest, shaking slightly. Impulse and Iskall closely followed, hugging Hels tightly.
"You all are idiots," Hels remarked when he saw the tears running down Impulse's face. "I can't believe you all didn't figure this out earlier."
"Shut up," Iskall mumbled, sighing. "We didn't forget that one of us has the opportunity to respawn, nope."
Hels snickered.
Some things never change around here with these dorks.
And I love it.
Around an hour later, everyone had composed themselves, to Xisuma's relief.
"Hey, Xisuma?" Hels called unexpectedly. "Come with me, I want to try and work with your power." Xisuma blinked, then nodded and crossed the room and stood next to Hels.
"Give me your hand," he instructed. Xisuma nodded and held out his hand, Hels taking it. He could feel eyes boring into him from behind, but he ignored the feeling.
"Blazes- you have strong powers-" Hels grumbled. Xisuma stayed silent, unsure of what to say.
"Okay, I'll be right back," Hels told him, letting go of his hand and walking out of the room.
"He's probably getting his book," Impulse called out. "It has every known magic in it and how it works. That's how Hels was able to teach us all more about our powers while not actually having them himself."
"Correct, Impulse," Hels said, emerging from the room with a leather-cased book. He flipped to a page, read something, his eyes skimming the words, then placed the book down on a table.
"Imagine gathering all your energy," Hels began. "This will be instinctive for you, so just do what feels right. Try focusing on a small object, like Grian."
"HEY!!"
"Just kidding. Actually try and focus on this pen," Hels placed a pen on the floor as he spoke. Xisuma glanced at it, then concentrated on it.
"People like you usually work better under pressure," Hels continued. "So I'm going to count down."
Xisuma nodded, and tried to pull energy, like Hels had suggested.
"Five,"
Something unfamiliar stirring inside him.
"Four,"
It was like a beast, thrashing and ripping.
"Three,"
Xisuma narrowed his eyes, trying to project the beast onto the pen.
"Two,"
It felt like his fingertips were being stretched- not painful, just a pull.
"One!!"
A thunderclap.
There was a scream,
And the beast ripped free, plunging everyone into the Void.
UH OH-
-Stom