The soft sounds of pages being turned broke Ex out of his train of thought. Xisuma was lounging on a bed nearby. His helmet was lying on the ground, and he quietly writing in a flimsy journal. A small smile pricked at the edge of Ex's lips at the sight of him. Even though he was the younger brother, he still felt obligated to protect the other.
X looked up and gave him a grin. "Are you okay?"
"Everything's fine." Ex gave him a half-hearted smile.
X nodded and went back to his journal.
Ex fiddled with a dragon head he had gotten while looting End cities. He got up quietly, walked over to X, and placed the dragon head on him.
Xisuma made a muffled sound of surprise. "H--Ex!" He yanked it off and glared playfully at Ex. "What was that for?"
"You look great with that dragon head on," Ex teased, ruffling X's hair.
X playfully shoved his brother. "You're so mean."
"Aww, wittle X is mad." Ex took a seat on X's bed.
X leaned against him and showed him his journal. "Wanna see? I've been working on this for a while."
It was a drawing made out of purple ink that they had gotten from Chorus plants. It depicted their home in the End and had them and their parents standing in front of it. X had a big smile and held a set of Elytra. Ex was grinning and held an enchanted diamond sword. Their mom stood next to X with a hand on his shoulder. Their dad mirrored the pose, but with Ex. It was a perfect family, with both siblings receiving the same amount of attention.
If only things were like this in real life.
"Wow...X, that's beautiful! Are you planning on giving it to anybody?"
"Actually, that's why I was showing it to you." X ripped the page out of the journal and handed it to Ex. "Do you like it?"
Ex hesitated, then forced a smile. "Yes, I love it!" he lied, putting the paper in his pocket.
X tackled his brother in a tight hug. "You know I could never live without you, right?"
You probably could.
You could probably spend your whole life without me and be perfectly fine.
"I know. Love you too, X."
»»————- ★ ————-««
Ex blinked out of the memory, quietly cursing himself. Now wasn't the time to drown himself in painful times of the past. He looked up at the sky.
The stars weren't visible tonight.
The mountain range was drenched in suffocating darkness, only broken by the weak rays of the moon. The distant growls of monsters echoed throughout the landscape, but other than that, the night was silent.
Ex basked in the silence, appreciating it. In a way, it made him less lonely. It was just the moon providing light, and it wasn't doing a very good job.
The dim light reminded him of the End. The dimension was usually very dark, and the faint particles of the mysterious portal in the center were the brightest spot on the main island.
Xisuma might have had fond memories of their time in the End, but all Ex had was bitter times of being overshadowed and never seen.
And speaking of memories...
Ex reached into his pocket and felt a crinkled piece of paper. Pulling it out and opening it, he saw it was the drawing Xisuma made for him back in the end.
When their parents came home from slaying Endermen in the outer islands, X had taken the drawing from Ex quickly. He ran up to their parents and presented his drawing proudly.
"Oh, X! This is wonderful!" Ex could tell by his mother's words that she meant it.
"You must have put in so much work for this." His dad had the tinge of pride he always had while talking to X.
Ex looked down at the dragon head he had gotten. It had taken close calls with shulkers, three health potions, and almost falling to his death while on the ship. X only had to smash a few Chorus plants and draw the picture.
Ex would give anything to see his parents praise him like they praised X. But that was never the case.
Even though Ex put in more work than X, it was always the latter who got the spotlight. Ex was always so helpful, and he sometimes overworked himself to the point of exhaustion, just so he could help provide for his family.
But was he ever seen for it? No.
He raided countless End cities, slew thousands of shulkers, and nearly died too many times to keep track. He'd done everything right, he'd been the good protective brother, and what did he get? A glance in his direction, or a pat on the back if he was lucky.
He had tried to explain how he was feeling to his parents. They shook their head at his thinking and told him that he was just complaining. Life in the End was perfectly fine. They were happy and sustained.
Except they weren't.
The End had worked against them, kicking the two brothers out and trapping their parents. The portal had separated Ex and X, leaving both of them to fend for themselves.
Ex had always believed things happened for a reason. The End portal in their home dimension was proof. It had separated him and X. X was probably enjoying this world, no matter if he was alone or not, while Ex was barely surviving in the wilderness. The universe was mysterious, and it wasn't working for him. It never was.
"Exy, are you sure everything's okay?" X's voice rang in his head.
His parents' voices overtook X's quickly.
"You've done so well, X!"
"Thank you for this."
All Ex ever wanted was some recognition for what he did. A simple thank you, even. He wasn't asking for riches or power. He wanted to be seen.
You'll never be seen.
You've always been overshadowed.
Why would things change now?
The negative thoughts crowded Ex's mind, pushing his family's voices around. He tried to block them out, but they were coming at full force and he couldn't stop it.
He looked down at the drawing X had given him again, feeling his emotions well up inside him. The dam he had built around his emotions was breaking and there was a flood coming through, ready to destroy everything.
He folded the drawing and ripped it to pieces, watching the paper flutter to the ground.
He'd lost his patience. He was done with being unseen. He'd worked so hard to help his family survive and be a good person and brother, and what did he get in return?
Nothing.
What was the point of being good if no one was there to see it?
Was it even worth it?
And, after all this time of not being seen...
Should he be good?
(WC: 1161)
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Hermitcraft: Origins
Fanfiction"Each world has its own story. Even if you tried to get a story from me, I wouldn't be able to tell you half of it. There is so much life in each build and block, and each event has told their own tale. But it has to start somewhere." Fate has the o...
