Chapter Text
"Do you really have to go?"
Grian smiled sadly, "I do."
"I'll miss you, you know?" Taurtis chuckled. The stood in Grian's base, watching his friend suit up for an enderdragon fight. But it wasn't the dragon he was concerned about, it was what comes after. "Evo will feel weird without you and your shenanigans."
Grian couldn't help but laugh, "I'll be fine T! The Watchers wants me back and I have no choice. Do you know the cover-up?"
"After you defeated the dragon, you got teleported into another world, we don't know where or with who," Taurtis stated with mastery, his practice paying off.
Grian hummed in approval, the other evolutionists doesn't know Grian's now new heritage, or how they will now waltz into a Watcher sanctuary so Grian can return to their dimension as promised. All they know is Grian being a classic Grian, hasn't defeated the ender dragon by himself or with anyone else for the matter.
"I'll miss you too, T. It sure gets lonely up there."
Grian lets out a small 'oof', feeling the wind getting knocked out of him as Taurtis tackles him in a tight hug.
"You know how to summon me," he whispered, his voice wavering as a sob threatened to break through him, "I'll be there when you need me."
Grian gladly returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Taurtis and holding him tightly. Who knows when he will see him again, he just hopes he will eventually in the far future. He doesn't care how long, as long as he does.
"I will."
Pearls of XP slowly fell onto the end stone he was standing on, the loud crackling and groaning of the defeated Ender dragon echoed across the empty abyss of the void. It was finished.
"You certainly made quite a mess, Xelqua."
Grian swiftly turned around, still breathless from the fight, seeing Astrid and Red standing there, still poised and regal as always; they barely changed at all.
If he could see through their masks, he swore that Red rolled her eyes, "'Quite' is a bit of a understatement don't you think, Astrid? He just defeated the enderdragon for those pathetic players!"
Grian never really liked Red. Sure, all of the other Watchers are cold and distant towards him and other players who were chosen, but Red was always spiteful towards them. She never tried to hide her disgust and hate towards them “lowly creatures who are lucky to be created by the Interitum”, but he soon learned how to ignore her comments.
"Should we get going then?" He interrupted before this conversation erupts into a full blown argument, "I have been here for a while and I would to see how it is back there."
He saw Astrid flash a prideful smirk at Red, who in reply tossed her wild red hair behind her shoulder before folding her arms in protest.
"We shall then Xelqua! We definitely missed your enthusiasm."
"You’re a nuisance Xelqua."
"Now Red, don't be mean—"
"Let's all just go ahead, yeah?" Grian interrupted once again, "I would really want to leave the end please."
He was about to open a portal himself when Astrid held up a hand, "Just a moment, Xelqua."
Grian felt his heart plummet at that very moment. There was something wrong.
"We have some business to attend to first," Red smirked as the pair started to approach the end portal.
Panic started to arise in Grian. No, why are they going to the Overworld?!
"Will you follow us, Xelqua?"
Grian swallowed past the lump in his throat and plastered a shakey smile on his face, "Of course!" No no no, this is wrong!
The two Watchers jumped into the portal, disappearing from his sight. Something was horribly wrong, he can feel it.
Grian stared at the starry black abyss of the portal. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was wrong.
But he doesn't have much of a choice now, does he?
With a deep breath, he jumped in.
He wished he didn't.
Grian blinked away the slight vertigo from the teleportation and—
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Red just laughed at his outburst, "You will trying for the Interitum in months. Xisumavoid has failed. This is the last part of your training."
Evo was up in flames.
He watched in terror as all of their hardwork burned to ashes and his friends tried running away from the fire and falling debris and hearing countless death messages ping in his communicator.
Grian turned to Astrid, "THIS WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!"
"You agreed that you will continue and finish your training while you are here. THIS is the final part of it. As per our agreement, you will finish it, right here, right now."
"GRIAN?!"
Grian's attention turned towards the voice and his eyes widened.
A half limping Taurtis with some part of his shirt burnt to crisp and his skin bruised ran towards him, his hand reaching out towards Grian.
He heard Red sigh beside him and Tautis froze midair by an invisible force, just as he was about to touch Grian.
"Pitiful."
Taurtis' eyes widened in realization, "Grian— what did you do?"
"I'm so sorry, Taurtis!" Grian pleaded, tears streaming down his cheeks, "This was all my fault!"
A scream broke through the air, there, right behind Taurtis, was Netty; kneeled on the grass as she writhes and screams in pain, seeming like an invisible force was torturing her.
Taurtis gaze flicked to Astrid, "Please! We have done everything you asked! Please don't hurt us!"
Astrid ignored his desperate please and instead turned to Grian, "You know what to do, Xelqua."
"Grian please," Tauris begged, "After all we've been through?"
Grian met his gaze, seeing the betrayal that hid behind his eyes.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I don't have much of a choice."
Grian pressed a hand against Taurtis' chest and flung him back into the fire with inhuman strength.
The earth beneath them cracked with purple veins as he reached deep into the core of the world, feeling his power pulse through him.
Tears stream down his cheeks as he continued to grasp the core, hearing the screams and begging of what used to be his friends.
Chunks of the world broke apart and glitches out of existence, followed by blocks of their builds, then the trees, then the entities.
"GRIAN!"
He broke away from his concentration and looked at where the voice came from.
Wood was levitating off the ground with a sad smile on his face, as if he knew what eas going to happen to him.
Still connected to the world, he heard a brief whisper of his thoughts.
Goodbye old friend.
Wood glitches out for a moment, then, he was gone.
He couldn't hear, he couldn't see, he couldn't feel.
Grian didn't hear the deafening shriek he let out as he fell onto his knees.
Grian didn't see the sheer force of his power as his knees touch the ground, so powerful that even Astrid and Red got flung away.
Grian didn't feel the pain of loss in his heart for it was replaced by the empty feeling of numbness.
And then he was met by darkness and silence.
And for a moment, he was at peace.
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That was until he heard the soft chirping of birds fill his ears.
That was until he was met with the blurry view of an ocean.
That was until he felt the soft warmth of sunshine on his skin.
"Oh my word! Are you okay?!"