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Chapter Text

In the realm of Minecraftia; there once existed two rulers; Notch, the ruler and overseer of the Overworld. And, [REDACTED] the Queen of the Nether. One day, a war broke out between the Queen and her subjects and Notch and the players of the Overworld. After the war ended, both sides completely decimated, the Queen was mysteriously missing. Some say she died, some believe she escaped during the confusion of the fight, either way she was gone. The Nether has since gone on without a ruler. Her large nether palace, left in ruin, is said to still be standing. Following her absence, rumors arose that a glitchy entity known as Herobrine began to lurk within the walls of the palace, attacking and killing anybody who dares trespass the Netherbrick Structure.

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"C'mon, Dude!" A young, bright-eyed male chuckled, rushing towards the large, looming building in the Smoky distance of the Nether.
"Slow down! I'm not fishing you out of the lava this time." The older, more cautious male sighed. After a moment, the two men stared at the decrypted building; cracked orange and red stained glass windows, dark netherbrick mixed with the bright, dusty quartz.

"Dude...We shouldn't be doing this... What if he's here?!" The nervous man questioned, wiping sweat from his forehead before replacing his iron helmet.
"Don't be such a baby! Those are just rumors! Now, c'mon! There's gotta be loads of treasure inside!" The hyperactive male laughed, grabbing his companion by the wrist and pulling him within the building.

"Damn! This place is HUGE!" The excited adventurer spoke in awe, admiring the large, spacious foyer of the castle, large quartz pillars holding up the structure.
"Shut up! You might alert any mobs that are in here!" The other explorer said in a hushed down, smacking his partner on the shoulder.
"Dude...That door's massive…" The emerald-eyed male said, eyes glistening like the gem they shared the color with, stepping towards the huge wooden door with gold trim.

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Echoing footsteps and voices alerted the white-eyed beast from his slumber. He growled, peeking an eye open and grabbing the trusty diamond pickaxe that rested at the side of the huge quartz throne. The glitchy entity floated down the stairs of the throne room before ending his hovering and walked along the red rug that had golden trim. As the man reached the oversized throne room doors, they began creaking open; two men pushing the door.

"Well, well, well... What have we here? Intruders?" A gruff voice purred, coming from a dark-skinned man with a shark-toothed grin. The two males were momentarily confused before being immobilized by fear as Herobrine materialized a fireball; that ignited his figure that was shrouded in the unlit throne room and chucked it at them. The ball burst, causing the males to be thrown against the wall; embers scorching their clothes and the crimson carpet. The older man who was closer to the demon; who then raised his pickaxe and swung it down, piercing through the elder spawn's golden chestplate and through his chest. A gurgling scream was heard before the man's body disappeared into a cloud of pixels.

Herobrine stepped towards the younger male who was struggling to stand. The glitch lifted the male by the collar of his shirt; causing the man to struggle uselessly.
"Let me go! Please! I'm sorry!" The man pleaded, tears rolling down his face. Herobrine's white eyes glared at the green-eyed man before he began floating, shattering a stained glass window with his free hand and holding the flailing player over the ocean of lava that the castle rose from.
"This is what intruders like you get." Herobrine growled, dropping the male who screamed as he fell to his inevitable demise. As Herobrine landed back on his feet; a green energy encapsulated the man; teleporting him to a strange location.

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Herobrine blinked, seeing mossy cobblestone bricks and then seeing a bald-headed man with a black beard staring at him with bright green eyes, sitting on an emerald and cobblestone throne.
"Notch." Herobrine stated, finally realizing who the man was.
"Herobrine." Notch responded, voice deep and commanding as usual.
"Why am I here?"
"You're abusing your powers and killing innocent players all because they're exploring the depths of the Nether?"
"They were trespassing within MY castle!"
"It's not YOURS it's...her's…"

"WHATEVER!" The brunette sighed, scratching at his goatee. "What the fuck do you want from me? A piss poor excuse of an apology?"
"Such vile language… This is far from your first offence. You've been doing this for years and I'm sick of it. I think you need to earn some redemption." Notch spoke, crossing his arms.
"What do I have to do? Read to the elderly?" The white eyed male growled, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Rather, you need to EARN it yourself. I'm going to reduce you to the status of a Spawn. Meaning NO POWERS, only the tools of what your own two hands can craft. And earn these items; A Dragon Egg, A Nether Star, and a Dragon Head. And, to make it even more challenging... You will locked into a hardcore state. Meaning... If you die. YOU STAY DEAD!"

"W-Wait a moment... Don't you think that's a bit excessive?!" Herobrine protested, suddenly feeling very afraid.
"Your crimes were excessive. So, it's only fair." The god replied, snapping as green energy surrounded the glitch. Herobrine felt his powers being pulled from his body, suddenly feeling defenseless in the presence of a God.
"Good luck, Brother." With another snap, Hero was suddenly falling to the Overworld.

Chapter Text

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Falling…

Falling…

Falling…

Hero momentarily opened his eyes, finding himself plummeting down to the earth below. He felt so afraid yet, strangely calm. The man tries his best not to panic, trying to summon forth his levitation powers but, alas no such powers came forth.

What?

The man tried to summon forth flames that he could use as jets to steady himself. No luck there either.

What's going on?!

An ender pearl? Nope.

Shit!!

He closed his eyes tightly as the ground came closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer…

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"Uuugghhh--" Herobrine groaned, beams of sunlight practically blinding him. The man shielded his eyes as he stood up; his feet unsteady and nausea causing his stomach to churn slightly. He walked under a shady tree and tried to gather his bearings. He appeared to be in a forest, a roofed forest specifically.

The white-eyed man growled, wanting to just teleport back to Nether but, he then remembered that was not an option. That's why his powers didn't work when he was falling! A hostile hiss caused the man to turn, seeing a large spider crawling towards him from an open cave nearby. There was also a clatter of bones behind the arachnid; a skeleton holding it's bow up threateningly.

"Go away, pests! You dare attack a god?" Herobrine scoffed, assuming a threatening pose. The mobs weren't phased, the spider lunging forward as an arrow flew by the man's head. The unarmed man held his arms up defensively, shouting as the spider's fangs sank into the man's forearm. The man shoved the spider back, only to have an arrow pierce his shoulder.

"SHIT!" The white eyed entity growled, turning and running away from the hostile creatures who didn't bother giving chase; simply defending their territory. The injured man continued running, not caring what direction he was going, he just ran. After hundreds of blocks, the man stopped at a small stream, dropping to his knees and panting heavily. Drops of sweat dropped to the grass below, dampening it slightly.

Herobrine gripped the arrow in his shoulder and took a deep breath before yanking it out; letting out a pained cry. He dropped the bloodied arrow and scooped a handful of clean water and washed the wound. After cleaning off the arrow wound, Herobrine dipped his arm in the water, washing the spider bite. Eventually, the pink streaks in the water disappeared and the former god looked at his reflection in the water.

Shaggy brown hair, unkempt facial hair, tan skin and…light gray eyes?!

This wasn't right?! Herobrine was supposed to have white eyes! The man thought for a moment before he realized; this must be another result of losing his powers. The man sighed and rested his head on a nearby tree. Gods, what a mess…

After gathering his thoughts, the man figured he should get a move on. He felt defenseless and figured it'd be safer to search for civilization. Villages were scattered all across the lands, it couldn't be too hard to find one, right?

Herobrine wandered in one direction, past herds of sheep, cows, the occasional chicken. He sighed, not yet seeing a village. "What am I going to do? I've never survived without my God Powers! How am I ever going to get the things I need?!" A small sniffle escaped the man, a tear dripping down his cheek. He was surprised; it was a regular, liquid tear rather than the lava tears he was used to.

But...this is no time to be crying! He had to find somewhere safe! The man wiped his eyes and continued his trek through the forest. The trees soon thinned out, leading to a Sunflower Plains. Hero looked at the tall flowers fondly for a moment before continuing to walk. His eyes widened in joy as he saw a village in the distance. "Thank the gods!" Herobrine muttered, beginning to sprint towards the safety of the village.

Due to the sun beginning to set, hostile mobs began to rear their ugly heads in the open fields, some blocking the weakened god's path. Specifically, a zombie. The decaying beast lurched forward, swiping at Herobrine. The man dodged and swung his fist, hitting the zombie's face. The zombie swings again, hitting Herobrine, rotting nails tearing his cheek.
"Look out!" A man's voice rang out before an arrow whizzed by, hitting the zombie between the eyes, causing it to fall to the ground and disappear into a cloud of pixels.

"Are you alright?" The voice asked, helping the defenseless Herobrine to his feet.
Hero felt his eyes widen as he looked at the man in front of him. He was wearing a teal colored shirt, blue jeans, and dark brown boots. His brunette locks were a bit messy but swooped to the side along with a well kept goatee and bright indigo eyes.

It was Steve…the original spawn.

"Hey, are you alright?" Steve asked again, a concerned look on his face.
"Oh! Um…yes!" Herobrine muttered after a moment, snapping out of his own thoughts.
"You know…I get a feeling you're a recent spawn, aren't you?" The man asked, stowing away his bow and leading Herobrine into a nearby plaza of the village. It was well lit with a fountain, villagers conversing, and iron golems patrolling the area.
"Heh…What gave it away? My lack of tools? Clumsy fighting skills?" Hero chuckled, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
"Haha, yeah. Those were definitely indicators." The brunette chuckled in return.

"If you'd like, tomorrow morning, I could…help show you the ropes of how to survive out here." Steve spoke after a short pause.
"Wait, really?" The gray eyed man replies, almost in surprise.
"Of course! It'd be a shame to have you die after having just recently spawned, after all." Steve said, not knowing that the man he was speaking with was locked into a hardcore state.
"Heh…y-yeah…That'd be…unfortunate…" The former god nervously chuckled.

"Come on, follow me. There's an inn in this village that we can stay at for the night." Steve says, waving for Herobrine to follow him. The pair entered the inn and Steve happily paid the innkeeper for two rooms. Herobrine was surprised at how kind and generous Steve actually was; it made a warm feeling flutter around his chest.
"Well, see you in the morning…um…sorry, I don't even know your name." Steve began before realizing he didn't even know the man's name.
"Oh…it's…" I can't tell him my real name… "...Hero. My name is Hero." Herobrine said after a moment of thinking.
"And, I'm Steve. See you tomorrow, Hero!" Steve said with a smile before retreating into his room.

Hero nodded and entered his own room. It wasn't anything grandiose or anything. Just the essentials; a crafting table, furnace, chest, and an orange bed. The man sat on the bed and took a few moments to gather his thoughts.
"I can't believe my luck…How'd I manage to meet Steve?! The Original Spawn?! And, he's willing to help me? I knew he was a nice guy but, this is quite surprising!" Herobrine thought, laying down on the bed. He could feel tiredness beginning to overtake him the second his head hit the pillow.