Choose your Demise I Hermitcraft

Prologue (Grim Reapers)

The eager player pressed their fist onto the wooden button, the nearby dispenser reacting and spitting out a piece of paper. The red shirted fellow grabbed it and lifted it up so he could see the writing.

'Exit the Aquarium' Grian read out loud to his friend, Rendog.

'Okkaay.' Rendog stretched out the message as if he was uncertain of what he was getting into. The whole Demise game was quite new, but of what he could tell it was just some long round of truth or dare.

After briefing Rendog on the rules, Grian pointed at a large glass tank filled with water, bubbles that would send him to the bottom fizzing around the tank as if they were alive.

'Just to check you have tested this, right?' Rendog asked, eyeing all over the big glass tank which he would become the fish of. 'I tested it, It works.' Grian replied, the excitement ringing in his voice, though there was a hint of worry. He didn't want to push Rendog too far. It's just a game, he'll respawn and be back to his normal self, unharmed. Grian told himself.

With a slight chuckle, Rendog added 'I'm not the greatest swimmer, so this should be interesting.' With a step forward, he cried 'Alright, let's do this!'

'Rendog, I dare you to escape the aquarium.'

'Okay, I take the dare and-' Rendog hopped into the tank, Grian closing the fence gates behind him.

His body ached as the magma blocks pulled him to the ground. Rendog panicked as he swam out to get over the dirt block. This is when he began to swim up, only to punch at the glass to break it open, the water slowing his punches.

When the glass was just about broken, Rendog couldn't handle much more. His breath gave lout and he began to choke without the oxygen. Grian gave a weak laugh, but he was worried. Even though this raised his chances of winning this small game, it still hurt him to kill a friend.

With the last glass shard giving out, the glass block shattered, giving Rendog the chance to take a breath. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself out. He continued to pull up until he was on his feet.

'Awe, you did it! you did-'

Before Grian could finish Rendog lost his footing, falling off the aquarium.

He felt something push past him. It was translucent, though one color was apparent.

Grays, many shades of it.

Grian looked around, confused of the monotone sight, before sighing. He shook his head, blonde hair shaking around, before Grian began to walk back to Ren's base. That's where his spawn was set after all.

***

'Catch the Totem.'

Grian could barely get his message across. The pain of loosing Ren still traveled though him like the bubbles that had strained his assumed dead friend. The blonde man gripped the paper tightly, as if he wanted to break it's papery bones.

'Oh no,' Stressmonster jokingly said, unknowing of why Grian seemed slower than usual. It's been that way ever since.. Ren.. disappeared. Stressmonster realized. When a hermit dies, they respawn at full health, but Ren didn't respawn? He was missing, that's for sure. This is what pained Grian. He thought he actually killed his friend.

'You'll need your elytra and nothing else for this one.' Grian explained, before going over the rest of what Stress would have needed to know.

The red shirted player pointed at a lot of scaffolding, going up to around the build limit. 'C-..' Grian stuttered. 'Climb that, and once you are at the top, I'll explain the rest.'

Stressmonster did do as instructed, and was explained the rest. Gripping a totem in one hand, and a few fireworks in another, she waited for the command.

Grian was silent, scared for another Rendog. He spoke up.

'Stressmonster?' 'Yeah?' 'I dare you...' he paused. 'to catch the totem, midair.'

She threw the totem, watching it fall to the ground, before leaping off. For a moment Grian's vision snapped, and he watched Rendog's...

When he came back to his senses, Stressmonster is flying though the air. On her command a firework lit and blasted her though the wind. He smiled, expecting her to succeed like she did with the other challenges. It really seemed like she would.

As Stress' eyes narrowed, her tracking down the totem of undying, a gust of wind threw her off course. It was.. unnatural to say the least. Grian, and probably other hermits around the server, couldn't feel the wind's change. It seemed to be directed at Stress.

'Stress! Stress, oh no! Land, land! Forget the totem, we can do this some other time!'

Listening to Grian's words, Stress struggled against the air, trying to land. Finally getting a grip of things, she flew down to land. Another gust a wind, it seemed, pushed Stressmonster out of line. She fell awkwardly, and her elytra couldn't get in place.

Grian stood in shock for what seemed like ages.

An explosion appeared of the items Stressmonster kept in her pockets for the challenge, her elytra and a few rockets, as well as the exp that she had tried her heart out for.

The green lights of experience inched towards Grian, him standing there terrified. Two of his friends, dead because of fall damage, dead because of him. Stepping closer to the items, they floated closer to him. Suddenly in his empty hand there was a few rockets.

It took everything out of him to not cry, to hide in a corner.

Though, he felt like something was.. watching. There was the familiar gray transparent.. thing pushing past him. As he turned around, he saw eyes.

It was shaped like Rendog, his face. Grian wanted to run over, give his friend a big hug. He'll apologize again and again. Rendog's personality would shine though, and he would cheer up Grian.. but something was off.

He was a monochrome. His whole body, a lot of gray. And.. this cloak. A black cloak that went well with the scythe that he held in his hand, his knuckle showing though as if he was angry.. at something.

Grian took a step back.

Suddenly, next to Rendog, was something else. First just a cloud of gray, but it grew form. It grew shape. It was Stressmonster, as gray as Rendog, also wearing a cloak and gripping a scythe.

'w...wh..' Grian stuttered, in complete shock. He wanted to ask What are you?! Where are Ren and Stress?! but he couldn't. His heart beat with the urge to scream it out, but he couldn't.

Grian ran off to find help, tears streaming down his face.