~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 15 (Pearl)

wc: 783

no tw

we're almost at 2k reads! :D thank you so much for reading my book. 

these last few chapters have been kind of empty, but there's so much in my brain for how the book ends and I don't know what im going to do wahhh

but ill be pumping out chapters cause we have a four day weekend!

hope you enjoy!

Pearl waited patiently as Grian ensured that only her, Xisuma, and himself were listening, then continued.

"I've been hearing voices," he said simply. "And they tell me things."

"What kind of things?" she asked.

"Right now, they're... surprisingly quiet," Grian said, frowning. "It started when you arrived. Although usually they tell me I need to 'go back', I'm not in the right place, etc. Sometimes, they demand blood."

"Have you followed any of that?" Pearl asked, her excited attitude disappearing. If they've been doing what I think they've been doing... her fists clenched.

"No," Grian said. "At least, I don't think I have." The uncertainty and exhaustion in his voice made Pearl feel bad for him. He never asked for any of it, yet the world seemed to be picking on him.

"The voices are quiet because of my presence," Pearl confirmed. "But I can't tell you why." I'd get thrown out if I did. "But... no matter what you do, don't do what they say."

Grian shook his head. "It's not that easy. It's... it's like peer pressure, but it's you pressuring yourself. They seriously make you feel like if you don't follow..." he trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Pearl laid a hand on his shoulder. Xisuma was sitting on a chest, thinking. "Grian, does this have to do with your... problem?"

There was a nod. Grian sighed, running his hand through his blonde hair. However, Pearl noticed black hairs beginning to grow from the roots, and a small glow in his eyes. 

"What's happening," Pearl said, "Is that your magic, which has grown to the point where if somebody else had that much, they would explode, believes that it should stay where it originated. Chances are, the Elders did this on purpose when they... gave you your magic."

Grian shuddered and nodded. "If I don't go eventually, I feel like my magic would just tear me apart."

"It won't," Pearl reassured him. "However desperate your magic may be to get back to the End, it truly belongs to you. Its priority loyalty is your body."

He hesitated, the nodded reluctantly. "Thanks Pearl..." There was a moment, and then Grian snapped his fingers. "Right! You need to tell about that warning."

Xisuma sat up, intrigued. "What warning?" he asked worriedly.

"Watchers are gaining power," Pearl told them. "You guys managed to hold off for the entire sixth season, but if there's one thing Watchers are capable of, it's self improvement, which in our case, is not what we want for them. They're making their way through the code barriers faster than before. You guys need someone more powerful to help fix it." Her eyes landed on Grian.

"Do I have to?" he asked timidly. Pearl laughed. 

"But I have admin and void magic," Xisuma said, bewildered. "If I keep working every night, then..."

"Then the Watchers will still come through," Pearl said with a sigh. "You guys really don't know how much Grian can do." Grian only looked down, hardly flattered. Pearl felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Xisuma stared at Grian, but didn't push it. 

"How long do you think till the barrier gives out?" Grian asked, standing up from a chair he'd plopped into somewhere in the conversation.

"A few months."

"Want me to check it out?" Grian smoothed out his shirt and rubbed his wrist.

Xisuma nodded. "I'll give you perms, just a sec." He typed on his communicator for a moment, then gave Grian a thumbs up.

Pearl watched as Grian closed his eyes. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, Grian was standing in a long black cloak, eerie purple eyes glowing even in the light. He held out a hand, then after a moment, mini strands of binary code appeared, floating over it. 

"See you in a bit," he muttered, then with a swipe of his hand was gone.

~~~

Grian made his way through the code. It was a very interesting place, where matter and sound didn't quite exist, and neither did his physical form. He was... a spirit, weaving through strings and lists and parameters and functions, searching. 

There. A wisp of magic, squeezing through the 0's in binary code, ducking under guarding functions. It was quite graceful, a dance of stealth.

Grian wasn't having any of it.

He held out his hand... was it a hand? Whatever it was, he held it out, towards the wisp. It didn't seem to notice, continuing its tango with the code.

Then he squeezed his fist shut, and the wisp stretched, then contracted, then disappeared altogether. 

He could already feel a headache working its way into his skull. It had been so long since he'd purposefully used his magic, he was a little rusty around the edges.

Grian sighed. It was going to be a long night.

hope you enjoyed!

if you guys have anything you'd like me to try to do with the story, do tell :3

thanks for reading! have a good day or night, wherever you are <3

-Ete