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run. Run. RUN! He turned another corner he could feel their footsteps closing in behind him. How did they find him? The barrier was perfect he had made sure of that. He’d spent countless hours practicing. Making sure they couldn’t find him after he escaped. He turned another corner, dead end. Panic welled up inside him as he searched frantically for an exit, an escape, he needed to get out. His vision dimmed; the footsteps came to a halt right behind him. Laughter, the kind that makes chills run down your spine, the hair on the back of your neck raise.
“You really thought you could escape from us?” the voice behind him spoke.
He wouldn’t turn around, he didn’t want to see those masks again, the purple glow of the magic he never wanted, the white wings, he never wanted this, never asked for it. He saw a shadow of a hand reaching for him, the purple glow illuminating the darkness. Grian jolted awake, heart hammering against his ribs. The purple glow still burned behind his eyelids as he gasped for breath, the nightmare clinging to him like smoke. He pressed his palms against his eyes, willing the images to fade, but the laughter still echoed in his ears. He didn't want this power. Had never chosen it. Never asked for it. If he could go back to that moment three years ago, he would have run without looking back, no hesitation. Slowly his breathing steadied, and his heart rate fell to a normal pace.
Finally, when he regained his composure, he dragged himself out of his bed and walked over to the mirror. The reflection that stared back at him made his stomach drop. The purple glow on his neck was brighter than yesterday. He traced the mark with trembling fingers, the light pulsing under his touch like a heartbeat. His mind raced to the worst possibilities, could they track him with this? He shook his head, forcing the paranoid thoughts away. If they had found him, they would already be here. He was safe. He had to be.
Shuddering, he forced himself to focus on the present. This was his life now, friends, safety, normalcy. He pulled on a shirt careful to conceal the purple glow on his neck and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the wild strands. Once he was satisfied, he went over to his kitchen and shoved a few sweet berries into his mouth. His hunger satisfied he went to retrieve his elytra and armor when his communicator buzzed. He pulled it out and read:
<Mumbo> “Hey man, Scar and I are going to go bug Skizz. Do you want to come? We might go fishing!”
<Scar> “Wait what, I didn’t agree to this… “
<Mumbo> “Too bad, you’re coming. I'll meet you guys at the bridge by Skizz’s base.”
<Gem> “Hey, I want to come! Can I bring my snail?”
<Scar> “NO! NO SNAILS!”
<Mumbo>“Not the snails again. You can come, but NO SNAILS!”
<Gem> “You guys are no fun! I’m coming. I’ll be there soon, no snails I promise.”
<Mumbo> “You coming, G?”
He chuckled to himself and quickly responded with confirmation that he would be there in a few minutes. Grabbing his armor and elytra, he ran out to his storage system. Smiling to himself at his organized chaos, he rifled through the boxes until he found what he was looking for, then made his way over to Mumbo and Scar, who were waiting somewhat impatiently at the bridge.
“Dude, what took you so long?” Mumbo said as he searched the skies for Gem.
“I was trying to find some rockets, my storage is organized chaos, but someone moved my stuff around!” He gave a suspicious look towards Scar, who was perched on top of a lamp pole. Scar conveniently wouldn’t make eye contact and was looking at his cat Jellie, who was perched on his shoulders.
“Grian, I tell you every time, you need to make a proper storage. It makes it so much easier to find things,” Mumbo said exasperatedly. Gem landed a few feet away and made a shushing gesture to Grian and Scar, then started to sneak up on Mumbo a mischievous grin on her face.
“Honestly Grian I-” Mumbo’s comment was cut off in a startled yelp as Gem pushed him off the bridge, Grian doubled over in laughter as Mumbo fell with a splash into the water below. Scar laughed along with them, bundled up Jellie in his arms, and hopped down from his seat on the lamp pole. He landed next to Grian and looked over the rail at the angry Mumbo swimming to shore below.
“Dude, you seriously walked straight into that one, could you not see her shadow?” Scar said. Below Mumbo dragged himself onto the shore and walked up the path back to the bridge to join them still sopping wet.
“No of course I didn’t the sun is- “He paused confused. “Hey guys where are our shadows?” Grian looked down puzzled and noticed that though the sun was high in the early morning sky, their shadows seemed to be missing. Putting Jellie down on the ground, Scar waved his arms around, looking at the ground unnerved.
“They’re just gone?” Scar looked up at the rest of the group “Did any of you guys notice this on your way here?” They all shook their heads. Gem, looking up noticed a strange blob in the sky.
“Hey guys what’s that up there?” Gem asked.
“I dunno it looks kinda creepy” Grian said looking up at the strange object, a sinking feeling settled in his stomach, this better not have anything to do with that dream last night he thought. He’d made the shield for a reason; one he hoped he’d never had to explain to his friends. He’d come here for a reason to leave his past behind, not to have it follow him.
“Should we go up there? I don’t think that something that the hermits built, it looks new.” Scar said as he pulled out some rockets and passed one to Gem. All nodding, they took off from the ground and flew up to investigate. The wind whipping his hair back Grian flew next to his friends he cast away any unwanted thoughts. As they flew higher, they finally got a clear view of what lay ahead, a platform hovering in the sky. When they reached it and saw the top, they saw two figures already standing on it inspecting the structure. Gem was the first to land, followed quickly by Mumbo. Scar and Grian shared a quick glance and landed next to them. The two figures turned out to be Impulse and Skizz.
“Hey Impulse, Skizz, did you guys make this??” Mumbo asked, as Grian looked at the odd structure more carefully and froze.
“Nah, we just saw this a few minutes ago and decided to check it out. It doesn’t seem to be made by any of the hermits.” Impulse said, crouching down and examining the symbol carved into the face of the platform. As he glanced down at what Impulse was looking at, panic swallowed Grian whole. His vision dimmed. He felt his knees hit the hard floor below him, and his hands started to shake. Mumbo looked over at him with concern.
"Grian?" Mumbo said in a concerned voice. "Are you okay?" Grian took a shaky breath and forced himself to stand, trying to play off his moment of panic.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just looking at these strange markings. They don't seem like they've been made by anyone here." He quickly regained his composure, careful not to arouse any suspicion. He needed to be away from here, needed to think. Mumbo, who seemed not entirely convinced, narrowed his eyes slightly. Grian could feel his friend’s gaze weighing on him, questioning his explanation. After what felt like an eternity, Mumbo cast one last look at Grian and reluctantly went to stand next to Scar, who was looking on the side of the platform.
“Whatcha got there Scar?” Mumbo asked.
“I dunno, it looks like a purple symbol or something, and there’s a sign here too.” He paused looking closer and read aloud: “Hidden for years, befriended a deer, hiding behind weak veils, the blood trail never fails, a pearled stone cracked by sight, their life is finite.”