The Broken Flame

Celina heard his words and it broke her heart. She listened to him as Brine spoke again.

“I should have done more. I should have told Glistenia that I had found somewhere I belong. I should have just told the monsters and they would have left us alone. I just… there are things I should have done… and I didn’t. And now, Steve could be being tortured right now, he could be in trouble. And it’s all my fault.”

The Demi-God growled to himself and took one of the stone blocks in his hand, grasping onto it and causing it to crack in his grasp. He began to seethe through his clenched teeth, one hand now clutching onto the side of his head.

The queen saw how angry Brine was becoming with himself. She was about to put a hand on his shoulder, but he suddenly threw the block in his hand, throwing it into a wall, cracking it and making the block fall apart on impact. Celina reeled her hand back and watched the Demi-God put his hands on his temples as he suddenly stood up. Brine was now angrily growling and muttering to himself, but he sounded like he could barely breathe. The queen stood and took a few steps back in shock. The cave walls were beginning to shake around them.

Celina looked around, at first, thinking there was some kind of earthquake happening. However, when she turned back to Brine in a panic, her eyes went wide. He was floating a few inches off the ground, breathing heavily and holding tightly onto his head.

“Brine!” she shouted. She tried to grab onto her friend, but before she could, it happened.

Brine suddenly shouted out as all his fury boiled over, sending out a wave of power that knocked Celina off her feet and shook the cave’s walls. The queen cried out as she flew back several blocks, before smacking back first into one of the stone walls.

Brine slowly floated back to the ground, stumbling as he stood back on the ground. He kept a hand to his now aching head, before the sound of small stone pieces hitting the ground made him open his eyes. The cavern’s walls now had large cracks and a few small holes in them, and the lava seemed to be boiling and bubbling more. He raised a brow in confusion, before a groan made him turn his head.

Celina was leaning against the wall she had hit, having pushed herself up from the ground to sit up and lean. She had her eyes closed and whimpered. She had been pushed into the wall pretty hard and she almost thought Brine had broken some of her ribs or her back. Though, the sounds she had heard were more stone than bone, so that was probably a good sign.

Brine’s eyes went wide. “Celina!” He ran to the queen and knelt by her side, trying to see how hurt she was. He touched her back and she instantly hissed in pain, arching her back. The Demi-God shook his head. “Celina, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to her, trying to help her sit comfortably. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to. I just got so angry with myself and… and I… I’m so sorry.”

The queen let out a small wince, but managed to look up at her best friend and see the regret in his eyes. She knew how bad he felt, but she also knew he didn’t always know how to control his emotions. She asked softly, “Are you okay?”

Brine blinked in shock, before shaking his head. “Don’t worry about me, Celina. I’m fine. I’m more worried about you.”

Celina blinked a few times. Her friend was so selfless. He looked so tired now, but he was more worried for her than himself. He was so sweet and she found herself smiling. She leaned over and hugged the being.

Brine found himself tensing at first when the queen wrapped her arms around him. However, after a moment, he seemed to crumble in her arms, his muscles becoming slime in the hot sun. He let out a soft whimper and his eyes closed, and he slowly returned Celina’s embrace. He began to sob in her arms as he set his chin on her head.

Celina slowly rubbed Brine’s back in little circles as she held him, making a gentle humming noise. She could hear him beginning to cry again, so she held him ever so softly. “It’s okay,” she reassured him. “We’re okay, Brine, and I promise you, Steve is going to be okay. We’ll find him and save him. I won’t let him die.”

Brine nodded and let out a sniffle, tears running down his cheeks. Her words were very soothing to the conflict in his mind. He let the queen hold him and he eventually relaxed his body.

The queen felt Brine’s posture change and she looked up at him as he gently pulled away. “Brine, you look like you could use some rest. Come on, I’ll set up your bed for you.”

The being nodded and stood, helping the queen to her feet. He followed her to the bed she had set up for herself, and she pulled his bed from the backpack she had brought with her. She plopped it onto the floor next to hers and Brine climbed onto it. Celina tucked him in, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Sleep well, my friend.”

“Thank you, Celina.” He watched the queen move to her bed, pulling her blanket over her shoulders. The Demi-God saw her fall asleep after a few minutes, and he soon closed his eyes to do the same. He made a silent promise to himself to believe that they would save his brother. He knew the fight wouldn’t be easy if Glistenia was there, but he also knew they were tougher than they looked. And he just had to reassure himself that they could do this.

Even if it took everything he had, Brine would make sure his best friend and sibling would get home safe.

*****

The next morning came and Brine and Celina ate and rested for a bit more before deciding to get moving again. They made their way through several large openings in the cavern, avoiding traps and lava pools again. It wasn’t anything new at this point, but what surprised them is that they hadn’t seen a mob for a while. It was like they had all chosen not to fight the humans. That couldn’t have been good, as Brine had pointed out. That could only mean that Glistenia possibly knew of their location and was waiting for them.

It was after the time had reached evening when the two reached a huge, open area of the cavern, decorated in mushrooms, vines, and the natural rocks and minerals. However, Celina noticed something and her heart dropped.

There were also blocks of a pale yellow color and light purple blocks in the walls and floor as well. It made her realize where they were and she felt her brows furrowing. “This is where… where you guys found Tulip. This where you found out what had happened to her and… fought her.”

Brine realized this as the queen had and his breathing picked up a bit. His whole body tensed up as he held his arms out to summon his swords, just in case. He knew they would definitely be in for a fight here. Beyond the furthest wall of this cavern was Glistenia’s lair, and that was where they would find Steve. They were so close, Brine felt himself shaking.

Celina could hear Brine’s breathing beginning to quicken and could see how violently he was trembling when she looked at him. She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and told him, “Brine, breathe. We’re almost there. Just keep your cool and we’ll be able to bring Steve home.”

Brine nodded but found he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. He tried his best to stop but found that his body didn’t seem to be trembling on its own will. It was like some other force was making him shake in his place. He could feel his heart beginning to pound faster in his chest, the Demi-God put a hand on his shirt as it did so. He had never felt his heart beat so fast before, it was like the organ was in a life or death situation. He could feel a deep heat in the pit of his stomach and his head began to hurt. Brine began to claw at his shirt, feeling the heat spreading through his body.

Celina could hear a soft wheezing from next to her and she looked at Brine and gasped. He was quivering violently and he looked ill. He had been just fine a minute ago and now he seemed unwell and that worried her. Celina went to put a hand on his shoulder, but before she could, the Demi-God threw his head back and howled. The queen jumped back in shock and watched her friend in horror.

Brine screamed out as both hands clutched his temples, he stumbled forward and nearly fell onto the ground. Pain surged through his whole body, shaking him to his core and making him feel like his whole form was burning up from the inside. He stumbled about and yelled in pain as his hands stayed on the sides of his head. So many voices and loud noises filled his aching cranium as he tried to regain control of himself.

Celina saw Brine shake his head wildly and she didn’t know what to do. Something was hurting Brine, something was going on in his head and she had no idea what. Celina felt like she was frozen in place, helpless to help her best friend and save him from whatever was happening.

Voices began to whisper dark words into Brine’s head, and he tried to fight them off. But they were too strong and he could hear them get louder and louder.

“You were a fool to trust that human.”

“She’s using you.”

“She’s going to leave you to die, Herobrineious.”

“You’ve given her mercy she doesn’t deserve.”

Brine shouted, “SHUT UP! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!”

Celina saw Brine’s legs wobbling and she knew he was going to fall. She cried out, “Brine!” and ran to his side as his legs threatened to give out from under him.

Brine heard a faint voice over the others but he couldn’t make out what it had said. He could only hear the others and their anger was getting stronger and seeming to make the heat in his body hotter. He could feel a sudden rush of negative emotions. Rage, sadness, fear; it all bubbled and boiled in his veins as the voices shouted at him. Brine tried to retain control of himself, but then, one voice stuck out among the others.

“You’ve given her trust that she’s going to use against you, Herobrine. No human deserves such mercy from you. You must get rid of her before she turns on you. She’s been using you. You don’t need her trust, for she will break it.”

Brine felt the heat in his body seeming to channel into power as the voice spoke to him, and his pain went away as he let the voice lull him into its control. He closed his eyes and fell to one knee.

“She’s foolish to think she can befriend you, Herobrine. She’s a weakling who simply used you to spare her life. She will betray you as the humans did millennia ago. All humans are the same, and she will betray you. Kill her before she tries to do the same to you.”

Celina could hear loud, deep breaths from Brine as he stayed on one knee, his hands slowly falling from his temples. Something about his posture worried her and made her slightly afraid, and she found herself approaching her friend with great caution. “...Brine, are you alright, sweetheart?” She placed her hand on his shoulder.

Brine’s eyes snapped open, his face turning to fury.

Then it happened.

A dark energy spiked through the air and before Celina could process what was happening, a hand landed a powerful blow to the side of her face, sending her flying off several blocks and rolling on the ground to a stop on her stomach. 

Celina almost didn’t get up, the punch to her face caused her to nearly black out and she let out a loud groan as she tried to push herself up with her arms. She was dizzy and seeing stars now. The human blinked several times to try and clear her vision as she moved onto her hands and knees.

A loud snarl has her looking up and seeing Brine standing straight, his arms held out at his sides and his face full of rage. His eyes were slanted dangerously thin, his sharp canines showing through a deep sneer. His whole body read anger and this made Celina’s eyes go wide. “Brine?”

Brine suddenly snarled and quickly summoned his swords, the crimson blades held down at his sides. He looked absolutely furious and he began to approach Celina at a steady pace.

Celina managed to get up onto her feet and she looked at Brine in horror. “Brine? What are you doing?”

A dark growl came from her friend. “Don’t you dare use that name, mortal!”

The queen’s eyes went wide. Brine’s voice didn’t just sound like it echoed anymore. Rather than two voices, it sounded like five and it seemed darker and more sinister than she had ever heard before. It was terrifying and she found herself beginning to shake. It was then that she noticed what Brine had called her. “Mortal? Brine, it’s me, it’s Celina? What’s wrong?”

“I SAID DON’T USE THAT NAME!”

The being’s sudden shout shook the walls of the cave and Celina barely kept her footing from the ground lightly shifting beneath her heels. She looked up and saw white smoke drifting from Brine’s eyes. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Her friend had been fine only moments ago and now he seemed to be in some sort of blinding rage.

What was wrong with Brine?