Chapter Text
He had floated in the void for many centuries before the world was created, filled with amazing colours and creatures that were fascinating, and he had watched them walk the earth for many years after that before he had gained the chance to walk among them. It had taken a further few years before he settled on a name for himself. Keralis. As fine a name as he could get. He thought to himself. Being an eldritch creature had its perks for him as he floated around the world, gathering materials and building captivating creations without the need for rest.
Then came the people. Some looking like him, ordinary, boring. Some looking different. They had large wings that reminded him of birds or horns from creepers or goats and even gills like the water creatures. Each of them having a distinctive ability and a unique story to separate them from the rest. But each of them came and went with the years that passed, leaving him alone and travelling the world looking for new stories and inspirations and a place to call home. He stumbled across a man in a bar of the main world who invited him to Hermitcraft.
Hermitcraft, as the man described, was only for the best of the best. People who were ready to put their entire life into the world were welcome, and those who wanted to look for fun were sent away. When he joined, he was greeted by many people, some of whom he knew he would never see again after that first day, some of which he knew he would. Bdubs, Hypno, Joe and Xisuma. Four of the hermits, as they called themselves, caught his attention the most. He would seek them out and talk to them just to listen to their stories. Hypno was the youngest of them all and the most inexperienced. He would tell him stories about growing up in a large city filled with people rushing around trying to get to the top, and Keralis would listen. He had never gotten to experience living in a world where working day to day was important.
Bdubs was the most energetic. He reminded Keralis of a cat filled with play who would pass out as soon as night came. He told stories of travelling the world with his brother, and Keralis would watch him build with blocks Keralis would have never thought to mix but looked captivating.
Joe was an artist in both his building, which reminded him of a dungeon at the best of times, and his words. When Keralis decided to visit Joe he was always handed a journal or a couple of loose pages to read through, and he got to admire the words that the man would share. The images he would create or the opinions he would craft into wonderful images. He enjoyed watching the man grow and he was there when he met Cleo. He watched them go from strangers to soulmates and he was there when Miss Cleo became Auntie Cleo for Joe's kid.
Which left the last hermit that caught his attention, arguably caught his attention the most out of all of them. Xisuma Void. He was a quiet man happy to stay in the background and build quietly, messing around with redstone whenever he could. Keralis thought he was weak. Easy to manipulate. Something he could play with.
Whenever he would visit the man he would be offered tea and they would sit together and talk for hours on end without a moment of silence, he would be treated like a friend to the weakling, an ally.
And Keralis would remember everything the man said even if only to use it against the man later on. And when he would leave he could feel a soft fire in his stomach that reminded him of safety, of a time before the world began and before the people came. A fire that he could never explain but yearned for after a few days away from it. He tried visiting all the Hermits and waited for the feeling to appear but it never would. It made him wonder what this feeling was, why the weakling was causing him to have it. Keralis could walk into Xisuma's house and sit beside the weakling and would feel at home, he visited him frequently.
Months passed since he entered hermitcraft and Keralis was looking at his blueprints with tired eyes. He should have been asleep hours ago but the design idea was stuck in his head and he was afraid to rest in case it would escape his head before the morning could come. He felt a shiver run down his spine and he could feel his blood freeze. He glanced around looking for danger, he was met with an empty fully lit room with nobody there. He tried to turn back to his work picking up a pencil but the feeling of anxiety prickled at his skin. He slammed the pencil down with a groan and stood up. Maybe a walk to Xisuma's base would calm him down. The weakling was rarely if ever asleep at this time and he knew he could coax the man into some tea and rest if needed he didn't care for the man but as a hermit he had to pretend to care. As he rounded the corner he saw a figure sitting on the steps of Xisuma's base. He paused before speeding up as he reached the injured weakling, his heart beating wildly for reasons he couldn't explain.
"Xisuma. What happened," he asked pulling the man up by the arm. He heard Xisuma groan before a quiet cough filled the silence. "Fell off the side of the building. I'm fine. Bumped my leg on the way down and landed on my stomach. Can you help me inside?" he asked. Keralis nodded before dragging X up the stairs into the half-finished building. He helped the weakling settle onto the bed before taking a step back. X looked up through the cracked helmet. "T-thank you. Sorry for taking up your time. That's all I need." Xisuma said reaching into his inventory and pulling out two diamonds and pressing them into his hand. Keralis looked down at the blue stones before passing them back to Xisuma. "Keralis. Take them it's the least I can do to pay you back. I would have died and lost all my items if not for you." Xisuma smiled and tried to press them into Keralis' palm again.
Keralis rolled his eyes at the weakling and stood up. He would have to care for the voidwalker now and taking his money was not something that others would do in this situation. He grabbed the healing kit from the corner and started to tend to him. Trying to play the part of a caring hermit. When he thought the man was cared for enough he stood up and cleaned his hands. "Sleep Xisuma. You need your rest." He said. Xisuma gave him a warm smile that... made the fire in his stomach roar to life... and nodded. "Thank you Keralis... if you ever need anything from me you know where to find me." He said. Keralis gave him a short nod and left through the door. He couldn't explain why, but he couldn't get himself to leave. With a quiet sigh he turned around and walked back in looking down at the weakling. "Let me help you- Shashwammy."