The Broken Flame

The mobs seemed to have finished torturing the miner, but one zombie approached him with a pink potion in its hands. The monster tilted Steve’s head up, grabbing him by the chin and forcing him to drink the concoction. He tried to cough it back up but a small shove reminded him to swallow down.

Celina and Brine watched as Steve’s chains were removed and he was slowly dragged away through a nearby hallway. They could hear his pained groans and whimpers as he was taken away. Celina looked to Brine. “Brine, where are they taking him,” she asked in a soft voice.

“There are some cells that Glistenia has in one of the caverns she carved out here. It’s more than likely that they’re taking him to one of those cells.” Brine looked down at her with seriousness in his white eyes. “We have to follow them. Follow my lead, I’ll get us in there.”

The queen nodded and watched the Demi-God move towards the hall, following him with quiet steps. The two moved into the passage and moved from one side of the wall, to the other, staying some distance behind the group of mobs so as not to be heard. The two followed the mobs into a larger part of the cave with cells along the walls, iron bars blocking the rooms in and chains hanging from walls inside. The queen and Brine moved into a cell that happened to be open and peeked around the corner.

Steve was briefly lifted up as one of the skeletons opened the cell door. He was then tossed inside, landing hard on the cobblestone floor. The door was shut and locked behind him, before the mobs dispersed and two zombies were left to guard the human.

As the other mobs left the prison, Celina and Brine drew their weapons and waited for a few minutes. Once they were sure no one would hear them, the two charged from behind the corner, easily catching the mobs off guard and bringing their blades to their necks. Down went the bodies as the heads tumbled onto the floor.

Brine quickly put away his swords and grabbed onto the iron door, pulling it with a grunt. It was easily ripped off the hinges and the two rushed inside.

“Steve!” Celina moved to her knees as soon as she reached the miner, carefully moving him so his head was in her lap. She looked over the man to see if he was still alive, and luckily he was still breathing. His eyes were closed though and that worried her. Celina turned to see Brine kneel next to her, and the two soon had Steve lying in their lap.

Brine looked over his brother. His breathing was very rough and he looked so tired and battered. However, he wasn’t bleeding, which was a good sign. He spoke to the miner in a voice barely above a whisper. “Steve? Steve, can you hear me? Steve… Steve, please, tell me if you can hear me.”

All was quiet for several minutes, before Steve let out a moan of pain. His lids slowly lifted, revealing deep violet orbs that were very hazy. At first, it seemed as though the miner didn’t see Celina and Brine, but Steve managed to turn his head to the side and blink. “...Bri… Brine? Cel--Celina?”

Brine nodded. “Yes, Steve, it’s us.” He carefully placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder, hearing him wince. “What have they been doing to you, brother?”

Steve let out a violent cough, before speaking in a very quiet, very weak voice. “I… I… They’ve… been… torturing me. I--I would… They would--take--me to… a platform to… to be tortured. Then… they--they would… give me Re--gen… potions, so I… I’d stay ali--alive.”

Celina looked at Brine as she said, “So that’s what they gave him. It looks like they’re keeping him alive for some reason.”

Brine nodded to her. “So it seems. I don’t know why, but… it looks like we made it on time.” He looked down as Steve let out a loud whine of pain. He lightly squirmed in the laps of the queen and Demi-God, obviously in agony. Brine sighed softly. “He’s so hurt, Celina… I don’t think that potion is going to keep him alive very long. We need to heal him before…”

The queen nodded, pulling a bottle with a glowing white fluid in it from her inventory. She carefully popped the cork and handed it to Brine. “Use this, Brine. It’s the mixture you made with your blood and my potion. It should keep him stable enough and help him start healing so we can get him back to the castle and help him.”

Brine nodded, but seemed to hesitate to pour the liquid into the biggest wound on Steve’s abdomen. Celina noticed this and put a hand on his shoulder. “Brine, I know you don’t want him to be hurting, but we’ve really got no choice. That mix is the only thing we have right now that will heal him fast enough to keep him alive. I know you don’t want to hurt your brother, but we have to save him.”

Steve suddenly whimpered to Brine, “Brine… please, help me.”

The Demi-God’s heart wrenched, and he let out a soft sigh. “...Okay… please, forgive me for this, brother.” He tipped the bottle over, pouring what was left of the potion into the miner’s wound. 

“EEERRAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Steve screamed out at the very top of his lungs as the potion hit his wound. The moment the potion landed, he felt a hot burn that felt like he was being torn in half from the inside out. He flailed around and kicked his legs, crying out in a hoarse voice. He couldn’t stop himself, this pain was worse than when Celina had poured her potion into his wound in the forest. Tears streamed down his face as he shouted, and he managed to open his eyes long enough to see his friends gazing down at him with worry.

Steve continued his cries for what felt like an eternity, before he let out a sharp gasp, and passed out. He was so tired, he couldn’t take this pain anymore.

*****

Brine’s eyes went wide as the miner’s violet orbs closed, and he immediately grabbed a hold of his brother’s hand. “Steve? Steve?!”

Celina placed two fingers to the other human’s neck, leaving them there for a second. “...He’s got a pulse, Brine. He’s alive.”

Brine sighed in relief. “Thank the Gods… I thought that…”

Celina shook her head. “I think he’s going to be okay, Brine. But we need to get him back to the castle as quickly as possible. I don’t know how long that potion will last for him, but we need to get to the castle.”

Brine nodded. “Someone surely heard his screams. I know a way we can go out to get back into the cavern. If you can carry him, I’ll lead the way.”

The queen nodded, getting to her feet and scooping the miner up into her arms. As Brine stood, she turned to follow him.

The two sprinted out of the cavern and down the hallway, Celina holding Steve close to her chest as she ran. The two burst from the hallway and turned down towards another larger hall. The sounds of mobs behind them caught Celina’s ears and she looked over her shoulder to see that several mobs had spotted them in the last cavern and were now beginning to give chase. “Um, Brine?! We’ve got company!”

“Just keep going! We’re almost there!” The Demi-God could very clearly hear the monsters behind them, but he knew here they were and that they were almost to the outside of the Enderwoman’s lair. They just had to keep going.

Brine led Celina into a large cavern that looked very familiar from his memories and the queen knew where they were. “Brine, this is the cavern from your memories! The way out is--”

The Demi-God and the queen were stopped when a group of Endermen teleported in front of them, making Celina jump back with a yelp of surprise. Brine immediately readied his stance should they have to fight, and he shot each of the dark mobs a deep sneer.

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t Herobrine? It’s been some time since you’ve been here, my dear Demi-God. Where have you been?”

The Enders all looked over their shoulders, before parting as a taller figure moved towards the duo. Her purple eyes and matching attire was all too recognizable and Brine instantly moved closer to Celina as the Enderwoman approached. Celina could feel herself beginning to tremble a bit, fear bubbling up from the back of her mind. “It’s… it’s her,” she whispered. “It’s Glistenia…”

The Enderwoman had her hands clasped behind her back as she approached the Demi-God and humans, and she seemed to be smiling wickedly despite having no visible mouth. Her eyes were slightly narrowed as her heels clicked on the stone floor.

Celina was terrified, more terrified than she had ever been in her life. She had hoped to all the Gods above that she would never have to face Glistenia despite being friends with Brine. She had seen what kind of powers this Ender had gifted to Brine, so she could only imagine what kind of magic the mob herself wielded. Celina’s breaths quickened and she began to shake.

Glistenia looked over the angered Demi-God and the fearful queen carrying the miner. “Ahh, so you managed to save the miner,” she mused aloud. “Impressive, Herobrine. It seems as though you’ve picked up a few new tricks from your mortal friends.” That last part had venom audible in it.

Brine growled and stood just a little closer to Celina, holding his hands out should he need to summon his swords. The glow in his eyes got brighter with sudden rage boiling up in him. “Say whatever you will about them, Glistenia! But they mean more to me than anything else in this world! I know you sent that attack and had your servants take Steve to try and get me back to my throne! I know you detest my newfound friendship! But I’m not going to let you take away everything I’ve worked so hard for!”

Glistenia stayed quiet for a few moments… before a dark chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head.

Brine stomped a foot down and snarled. “WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT?!”

The Enderwoman glared down at the Demi-God. “Oh, Herobrine… you really are a fool. You really think I still need you after you found this weakness with these humans? Do you really think I am incapable of ruling these monsters myself? You’re a fool.”

A strange purple mist came from behind the Ender as she raised her hands up, circling the monsters in the room and making all of their eyes glow a deep violet color. Brine and Celina turned over and over on their heels to watch the monsters, before Glistenia’s voice demanded their attention once more.

“You’re weak, Herobrine. You let yourself fall so low so as to become friends with humans again! What happened to the betrayal you faced so long ago?! What happened to your anger and hatred for these beings of Iraura?!”

Brine turned to look at her and summoned his swords quickly, taking a defensive stance. “I have seen the error of my rage, Glistenia! I’ve seen how kind and loving these beings can be! I don’t care what you say about them! Celina is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met and she made me remember why I adored humans! And she’s my best friend! She made me into who I am now, and reminded me of who I used to be!”

The Enderwoman cackled in a wicked manner. “Oh, how pathetic you sound, Herobrine! It’s obvious these humans have made you weak once more! If you really feel that way, I no longer have any use for you! You may have been my tool of destruction, but you’ve let your weakness show through and take you over!”

The Ender began to float a few inches into the air and raised up her hands. Something began to form in her hands and Brine knew exactly what it was.

A sword formed in her palms, a purple sword with swirls of black, as smooth as diamond and even seeming to be enchanted with a deep red glow surrounding it.

“You have become weak! I no longer need you, and I will show you what your mistakes will earn you! I am Glistenia! I rule the mobs of the night, and you… will… die for your weakness, Herobrineious! You will die here, and I will watch you suffer!”