Hermitcraft Shots

Keralis sad boi

"Run is... closed?" Keralis stared in disbelief at the signs covering the entrance to the minigame. "It can't be!"

He poked around a little more before deciding Run really was closed, and he would in fact not be wasting his diamonds today. He figured it was for the best anyway, and moved on with his day. There were lots of things to be done, and he was a very busy man.

Until an hour later when he found himself circling the gaming district again. He knew Run was closed, he knew it. And yet, here he was, hoping that it would be open when he checked again.

It wasn't.

That wasn't a problem though. Keralis needed to go shopping today, and the extra diamonds he would have spent on Run would be really helpful. He ran into the portal as quickly as he could, focusing on anything but Run, like the way his boots clicked against the glass floor of the Nether hub, or the feeling of the particles swirling around him as he stepped into the portal.

As he shopped, he did his best to avoid thinking about Run, but he couldn't help it. Maybe Iskall didn't know it was broken, and Keralis should text him. He tugged his phone out of his pocket, attempting to text and walk at the same time when out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. The mushroom gambling shop. He glanced at his remaining three diamonds. They were originally saved to buy wood for Bubbles, but surely a couple rounds of the game couldn't hurt, right?

He stuffed his diamonds into the chest, winning on his first roll. Without hesitation, he reinvested his diamonds, rolling until he was left with nothing but empty pockets. He contemplated throwing a block of stone into the machine, just to see if it might work, but paused as a hermit stepped into view.

"Hey Keralis! I don't see you in the shopping district too often, what's the occasion?" Grian waved happily as he jogged up to Keralis.

Keralis waved vaguely, suddenly too drained to interact with another person. "Eh, too tired to farm anything myself. I should get to bed, bye Brian." Keralis started the long trek home, his feet heavier than cement blocks. He didn't know where this exhaustion came from, but he still longed for a game of Run before bed, just to unwind a little.

The next morning was painful, with a throbbing headache and sunlight burning his eyes. "Keralis, wake up already!"

With a groan, he sat up, finding Xisuma sitting in front of him. He also quickly discovered he wasn't in his bed anymore, which explained why his back was aching. "Shishwamy?"

"Keralis, I'm glad you're okay. What are you doing asleep on the floor here?"

"Where..." Keralis glanced around, and instantly recognized the concrete walls of Run. "Huh?"

"I know you're addicted to Run, but you could at least bring a bed next time!" X laughed.

"I'm not addicted!" Keralis defended. "I just like supporting local game makers!"

Xisuma only smiled. "The first step is always denial. The game isn't even open right now, Keralis. Just make sure you're taking care of yourself."

"What?! I'm not in denial! I'm not addicted! It's just a stupid game, I don't have a problem! Shishwamy get back here!" Keralis scrambled to his feet, yelling at Xisuma as he flew away.

Shishwamy was wrong. Keralis didn't have a problem, of course not. Run is just a fun game, and Iskall is his friend, so of course he wants to play it a lot! If anything Shishwamy should be mad at Iskall for not restocking the game. It's just a game, a fun game. Keralis has made a lot of money by playing it, of course it's good. Why couldn't Iskall just let him in already? There's just a few signs in front of the door, surely the game is still functional inside. Iskall just wanted to make Keralis suffer.

Stepping closer to the doors, were the signs in front of the door always covered in blood? Keralis wondered who's blood it was. His fingers stung for some reason, but Keralis couldn't bother worrying about that, not when he had such important things to do. He would pull the signs off himself, and fix the machine. He pulled on the boards, but agony tore through his body. Blood dripped from his fingers, which refused to obey him. He pawed at the door, but the pain was blinding. He couldn't stop now though, not so close to victory. He had to run. He needed to.

"Keralis?"

He whirled around, red filling his vision. It was Iskall. Of course it was. Iskall was the one who was ruining Keralis' life. Iskall was doing this on purpose. He needed to pay for his actions.

Keralis lunged forward. Iskall grabbed Keralis before he could finish his attack, seemingly moving faster than humanly possible.

"Are you okay? Look at your hands, their bleeding! You're moving so slowly, are you feeling alright?" Iskall carefully restrained Keralis.

Keralis hissed and bit at Iskall, but he couldn't seem to keep up as Iskall dragged him to the ground. He growled, kicking at Iskall now. It was all his fault, he did this on purpose. Traitor. Traitor.

"Keralis, hold still! You're going to hurt yourself more!" Iskall held both of Keralis' wrists, attempting to trap Keralis' legs under his own. "What's gotten into you!"

"Traitor." Keralis spat. The energy drained out of him as he sat on the ground. It must be another of Iskall's secret powers. Tears filled his vision, pouring out without his consent. He wasn't sad, he was angry. Iskall had betrayed his trust.

"Man, is this about Run?"

Even the name shot a rush of adrenaline through his veins, and he bit down hard on Iskall's wrist. Keralis was no match for Iskall's superhuman grip, and he went limp again, breathing hard.

"I'm going to take you to Area 77, okay? They can protect you from yourself better than I can. Cmon, stand up."

Keralis collapsed, all energy gone by this point. If there was no Run, what was the point? Keralis allowed himself to be dragged across the ground for some ways, before Iskall lifted him into his arms and took flight.

It wasn't fair.

Love you, my little stars!
-RaeTheStar