[Author's note: Oct. 27, 2021]

A big ol Xelqua chapter with a lot of background :D sorry if it feels a bit exposition heavy, I want everyone to know what's going on ofc ;3c I'd love feedback on this chap in particular since it was a hefty write and I need to know if this style felt too busy or like too much of an info dump, so any constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy this nice break from the classic hermits ;p

((Also! I did a poll on my instagram (@avianfalls) if they wanted a long Xel chapter or two shorter ones, and long won, so here's an extra long one! As a treat! ))

——— 🌿 ———

Revenge was only a small piece of what Xelqua was after, and the use of the Hermitcraft server was one small step.

Xisuma was just his first target.

Xelqua was sitting in his office. A pristine room with a stunning quartz floor and smooth black concrete walls. Hisnotes were organized, as were his chests - and his dark oak desk was perfectly placed in the center, scattered with stacked papers and scripts.

He shuffled through the papers with an annoyed sigh, scanning the texts for any signs of discrepancy. His plans didn't always work, he wasn't naïve, he knew he wasn't perfect.

But he was pretty damn close, and the hermits would be one of the final pieces of the puzzle he was crafting.

He leaned back in his chair, resting the papers on the desk and opening his admin screen. He checked over the names of the Helsians, looking closely at what each of their readings were.

Wolf and Holliday were on their way back to the portal's location, just as planned.

Glaze was in BdoubleO's base, and his inventory was full of food - weird but oddly not surprising.

Serene was... not where she was supposed to be. She was meant to be laying low in Stress' base, but instead the Helsian was in Grian's!

The player looked to her inventory and it was filling with ores, gold, diamonds, emeralds, a totem of undying, more iron blocks than be could count. She was robbing him!

The goal was to be subtle! Not to scavenge the missing hermit's base like a wood rat.

He clenched his fists, closing the panel with a grumble. He hoped she was at least careful, the Helsians were not soft-spoken and if any of them were caught; it would throw off his plans again.

If only he could have gone himself.

Sure, of the two of them, Grian was much better at the whole "friendship" and "social" aspect of the hermit's server - one of the few skills Xelqua lacked.

Other than that, he was perfect at blending in, far more so than any of the NPCs in this stupid dimension.

But he wasn't allowed to leave.

The thought angered him. It was those hermit's faults that he was trapped here. Their fault Xisuma escaped his prison. Their fault the Watcher's craved his blood. A God shouldn't be trapped in this bin of a dimension. 

Only just years ago Xelqua had been one of the one of the Watcher's best generals. Taken in by their hand after the destruction of his world.

He had been perfect, they said. He had been every thing they wanted in a follower. In a leader. In a general.

Xisuma had left a mark on that status. He had shown up with his group of demonslayers, ready for the kill.

It was obvious he was the rookie of the group, smaller and younger than the rest of the slayers. Almost as though he wasn't even supposed to be on such a dangerous mission.

Xelqua was young too, still flawless in the eyes of the Watchers, but much weaker than now. His magic was barely at the beginner's stages. But, he was trustworthy and loyal; loyal enough to be trusted with the Dimensional Rune.

That made him a target.

Xisuma spotted him during the raid. The Watcher's had already been pushed back by the slayers and had been called to retreat. Xelqua was securing the rune, prepared to leave when the future admin approached him.

He didn't know what the man had said, but the entire energy of the Watcher's Tower screamed danger.

But he was a perfect solider. He wouldn't flee without a fight.

Xisuma's luminescent red sword shone through the darkness of the temple and Xelqua pulled his own blade. An axe gifted to him by the Grandest of the Watchers.

It was a long staff with feather-shaped blades on the end. The wings spread when he tightened his grip, the sharp metal sparked dangerously with Watcher magic.

The slayer made the first move, his eyes hidden behind the darkened film of his helmet. He swung the sword down, and Xelqua dodged it, rolling under the taller opponent, kicking at his ankles.

The armor kept him from falling, but he jumped back, swinging the blade once again at the Watcher.

Xelqua had already moved, flaring his wings and flying above to take advantage of the Tower's open space. His axe was longer than Xisuma's sword, and on command several smaller, sharp feathers launched from the helve, spraying down towards the slayer.

Xisuma leapt back in shock, a few of the blades nicking his armor. He looked down at the projectiles for a moment before looking up to see Xelqua's boots crash into his helmet.

Both men tumbled to the floor, Xelqua spinning the sharpest point of his weapon into Xisuma's dominant arm, cracking through the shell and into the softer flesh below.

Xisuma kicked up, knocking the shorter man off of him. Xelqua rolled and Xisuma rose, exchanging his melee weapon for a new one.

Xelqua glared at the new weapon, trying to register what it was. The man pointed it at him.

A blast of energy shot towards him, and he barely managed to dodge before the bullet flew past and broke through the wall behind him.

His eyes widened as he looked at the wall, turning back only to see the stock of the gun. It bashed into the side of his head, knocking him back down to the ground with a yelp.

He spun the gun back around, aiming it at the Watcher's head. Xelqua panicked and kicked again, hardly even budging the man - but throwing his aim off just enough to miss the fire, and the bullet broke through the floor past his head.

Both attacks left ringing in his ears, and he tried to sit up but the slayer had already readjusted his aim. Xelqua tightened the grip on his axe and swung it forward.

The bullet absorbed into the weapon, and it sent spirals of painful energy into both men. Xelqua recovered quicker, and he pushed forward, using his axe to knock the man back.

The slayer switched out the weapon back to his sword, slicing at the man once again. Xelqua blocked it once again, a battle of raw strength as both weapons pushed against one another.

Xisuma's blade sparked, and it began to meld through the staff.

Xelqua felt panic again. Nothing could beat a Watcher's staff, nothing could beat a Watcher's staff!

He shoved back with all the strength he had, Watcher magic pulsing through him. Xisuma was pushed back, and Xelqua's grip slipped away, losing his weapon, still stuck to Xisuma's sword.

The slayer shook the blade once, knocking the Watcher's axe back onto the floor with a metallic clang.

Xelqua stepped back, and the slayer looked to him for just a moment before running forward.

The Watcher flared his wings, jumping to the side, barely dodging the blade once more.

Xelqua ran to the side, eyes wide. He unfurled his wings and tried to escape, but his opponent fired at him again. It grazed his wing, sizzling a few feathers off.

The Watcher crashed to the ground, sliding along the tiles; a thin trail of blood skid behind him.

The slayer approached, walking. The arm holding his weapon was trembling just faintly. 

Xelqua's eyes darted around but there was no one to help him. He was alone. Alone with a slayer and no weapon. No defense.

The man walked up to him, eyes still hidden.

All of Xelqua's instincts kicked in, and he desperately pulled the rune out of his inventory, holding it out, right as Xisuma swung down.

The stone rune sparked in his hand.

The blade cut through it, chipping the sides with a furious crackle.

The most horrible sound emanated from the shattered rune. A high, energetic squeal echoed - and the artifact felt hot in Xelqua's hands.

He dropped it, and an explosion followed. 

Clouds of smoke billowed around and both Xisuma and Xelqua were thrown back from the force.

A blast of energy rolled through his body and it was painful. Waves of electricity felt as though they were tearing him apart, as if every bit of code in his body was being sizzled away into nothing.

Was this what death felt like?

Is this how everyone in his world felt when it was destroyed?

He landed on the tiles, still burning. His ears were ringing and he tried to stand, lifting himself slowly. His vision was foggy, and the smoke hadn't dissipated from the room.

There was a fire raging in the center - and the entire tower trembled from the pressure.

He could see the rune through the haze. Sliced down the middle, bits of it littered around the area.

That wasn't good.

The fire grew but he could still see him. The slayer.

He was already getting up though his armor looked damaged. The helmet was cracked. He could see the man's bright purple eyes staring right back at him.

He lifted himself up, arms and legs trembling. The fire separated them; The only thing keeping the slayer from finishing him off.

The only sounds were the fracturing of the building, the crackle of fire, the never ending ringing, and the quick thump of his heartbeat in his ears.

Another shadow came from behind the man - larger, older, and even more dangerous. He grabbed him by the shoulder, and the other slayer turned. Both of them leaving together.

The tower began to fall, large rocks rolling down the walls, the pillars toppling under the weight.

His flight response kicked in.

He fled.

...

It was a difficult journey back to the Watchers.

His entire body ached, and his mind was buzzing with nausea. The flight to the nearest portal was less than half an hour, but it felt like years.

When he showed his face at the next Watcher Tower, he was met with a completely different reaction than he had expected.

Instead of the shower of adoration and compliments he had come to expect from the Watchers, it was anger. Unfiltered rage. More than he had ever seen from anyone.

The rune was valuable, he knew that. But he had thought he was more important than a stone.

The Watchers had told him otherwise. He was no longer their star pupil. The perfect little Watcher image he worked so hard to build was destroyed along with the Tower.

But the Watchers were never his main goal. He wanted the power that came with them, not just their adoration.

The adoration was nice though... it was far more than he had ever gotten from either of his parents, or from his three little brothers. Their obsession with him wasn't flattery - it was simply annoying. He would get back to Watchers no matter what it took. 

Xisuma had been the worst damper on his plans before Grian, but at least Grian had given him the opportunity to use the Helsians as another source of power. Of course, they were missing two of the strongest soldiers now. 

It wasn't Grian who had taken down and killed Helsknight and Evil Xisuma, though that was what all the Helsians had been told. What all the Helsians had seen. Xelqua had taken care of them. The fight had been more challenging than he had assumed, but it was useful information. 

Evil X was reckless and erratic, but he also had some of the strongest elemental magic Xelqua had ever seen. Lightning and electricity tied together perfectly, and with a temperament like Evil, it was deadly. 

Helsknight was stubborn and strong. His blows always hit and they hit hard, he wasn't the best at dodging but his ability to block was astounding. His own elemental magic was potentially more dangerous than Evil's - but was far less controlled. Heat emanated from him, smoke nearly leaking from his mouth with rage and the plume of his helmet alight with a raging fire. 

He had sustained far more injuries than he had thought, but he still won in the end. Both men had been subdued, both unconscious on the ground - he thought he had killed them, but was surprised to find both Helsians still breathing. 

Of course the player thought about killing them, but they could be useful later. So instead he did what he did best with NPCs. 

He locked them in an interdimensional closet. A pocket dimension given to him by the Watchers. He could easily replicate the nasty forests of Hels there, as well as slow the time down - he didn't want these little Helsians to be gone for too long after all.  

It was where he had kept Grian for a long while as well. 

All the Helsians should be familiar with it at some point. They should know the power he has. 

He supposed that the Forests of Hels was another of the very few gifts this dimension gave him. It was a lovely place to trap a troublemaker, and it was hard to think of a better way to keep the Helsian's stuck where they were. None of them could leave, not if they wanted to live at least. 

He hadn't even realized he had walked to the window in his office. It was on the edge of the habitable realm, this window looking out over the forest itself. He could see smoke rising in the distance, but the humid fog would keep any wildfires back, so he simply snorted at the attempt. 

Nothing could reach him here. 

He stepped away from the window, crossing his hand behind his back as he trotted back towards the desk. He glanced over the papers he had laid on the top of it. Every bit of his plan would be noted, just to make sure nothing could go wrong. 

The player frowned and sat at the desk, opening his admin panel once again. He checked on Serene's statistics, hoping she was still alive and hadn't immediately been caught by a stray hermit in Grian's base. 

Luckily, it seemed as though the Helsian had returned home. Her items were disappearing from her inventory and he hoped she at least had the sense to put the stolen goods in hidden chests. He let out an annoyed sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he snapped the panel shut. 

He would never understand the rashness of these stupid NPCs. 

It reminded him of when he had first gotten here. It was weird to see the NPCs in person. He had watched them from his Watcher's post, but had never dreamed of being forced to deal with such a lowly status being. Especially as a prisoner. 

It was almost surreal to think that the very cage containing Grian had held Xelqua himself at one point in the past. The roles reversed. 

After his revenge plan against Xisuma failed, Grian had been one of the men to capture him. Sure, they had saved him from the wrath of the Watcher's rage after he had failed once again, but at the cost of being locked away for as long as he lived. 

But that hadnt lasted too long. Xelqua wouldn't be stopped by some NPC. 

Instead he waited until the most malleable Helsian was on duty to guard him. Serene. It took a few months to line everything up, and to talk to her in just the right way to get her to believe every word he said. 

"The only way to get player status is to kill your host player," he had told her, "I can permanently make you a player if you bring me the blood of StressMonster."

She was the one who had opened his cage and unlocked his chains, leaving them just loose enough. He would wait until Hels and Ex came back and freedom would be his. So would Serene, and so would Grian. 

That had all worked wonderfully. The only flaw was unimportant. Sure, Grian had gotten too attached to the hermits - but he didn't matter much anymore. He may come in use later, but for now - he had access to the Hermitcraft server, to their admin, and that was all he needed. 

But that was enough dwelling in the past. He had big plans, and a lot of manuscripts. Now was the time for the next step.