[Aria's POV]

"So you are telling me that somehow, in some way, I have absorbed part of Herobrine's power... and when we entered the Nether... you thought he had come back?" I summarize everything I was just told as best as my very scattered thoughts could manage. Thankfully, Andrew only nods his head. "It is the only explanation that fits. Whether your blood mixed with his during the battle, or if it was due to your proximity to him what he was shattered, you now have a piece of him within you that makes you appear... hostile." When he finally looks towards me, I can sense the suppressed malice.

I can't hold back the small gulp of concern.

Reginald lays a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I turn to look at him. His gaze is reassuring, and I give him a small smile. This seems to satisfy him, and he turns back to Andrew. "Why is it that I did not sense it like you?" Andrew shakes his head at this. "That is something I don't understand. It could be that her enderhalf is still more powerful, and dilutes it for you since you share a telepathic bond." I can only nod my head, still trying to piece everything together. I had a fearful thought in my mind, but I push it aside for now. Sucking in a deep breath, I try to coax out my ender-half. I could feel it within me still, subdued. I carefully will it forward, urging it to rise up a bit more.

My face tingles, and I feel the skin shifting. I hear Reginald near me, but I hold up a hand. "Don't. I'm testing a theory." Once I know he has stopped, I refocus on balancing my ender-half once more. When I feel that half my face has changed, I stop forcing it out and let out a huff. "Wooh... That was harder than I anticipated..." I turn to look at Andrew, who was now watching me with mild shock. His eye sockets area bit wide, but I can feel the malice from him has left. I hold out my hands a bit. "So? Anything?" As he shakes his skull, I feel a small sense of triumph in me rise. "Then that theory is settled. My ender-half is indeed stronger. But, this still has me concerned." I start pacing in the room, feeling slight nostalgia from the sight of it all. It was the same room we had come into after Andrew and I battled. It was also where I first met Reginald face to face.

I shake my head and focus. I could hear Reginald and Andrew talking again, but I tune them out. I have a part of Herobrine within me, which means he isn't totally dead. However, since we know my ender-half is stronger, then everything should be just fine. But the chance of him coming back lingers as well. What if this small piece is feeding off me like a parasite? The longer I stay here, the more strength it receives until it takes me over completely? No, I wouldn't let that happen. I'm too stubborn. But, if I get into a fight and drain myself, how do I defend my mind from him again? Worse yet, what will happen to my friends? I had just wanted to come back and see everyone, and it hasn't even been a full day and we already have trouble on the horizon. Knowing my luck, we'll suddenly get sucked back into a life-threatening battle with another ghost of this game like-

"Wait."

I stop my pacing and turn to Andrew and Reginald. They stop talking and look at me in confusion. "What is it?" Reginald asks carefully. Apparently, he could feel my concern, and Andrew could read it from my face as well. I unclasp my hands from behind my back and gesture to the wither king. "You mentioned the possibility of other 'glitches' joining this world. What did you mean by that?" I see him shake his skull, but I push. This isn't something I was about to ignore. "Andrew, don't you dare hold back right now. What did you mean?" The skeleton clacks a curse, then fully faces me. "If this world shows on your computer as a 'multiplayer modded server', then if someone joins with another corrupted mod in their folders, like the 'Real Virtual Reality' that dragged us all here, then they could unintentionally add another hostile creature. You know as well as I do that Herobrine wasn't the only creepypasta or ghost created in this game." 

I can only shake my head. "But he was real! I could feel it, almost like how Clu from Tron was real. He may have been part of the game, but he was created to be just like a player. The others are all made up, fake! You don't seriously think-"

"What started those stories of Herobrine?"

I stop dead in my tracks and stare wide-eyed at Reginald. The enderman raises a hand. "I do not mean to be rude, but Aria you must think of this with a level head. All the stories we read of Herobrine were true, correct?" I take in a deep breath and start to clear my head to think clearly. As far as I could remember from our last 'encounter', everything I had read about him was true. Slowly, I nod my head, and Reginald continues. "We all believed him to be fake, a ghost of the game, made up by people who wanted to scare us. What if a few of those stories were true, and they were his 'test runs' before he finally figured out how to pull players into the game?"

My heart skips, and not in shock. It was as if it was agreeing with him. I feel the power within me stir, and I raise a hand to my chest. "So... You're telling me there may be a possibility that other 'ghosts' or made-up characters might not be as 'made up' as we believe?" The fear that sinks in when Andrew nods his head weighed on me like a boulder. Would this never end? I had only wanted to come see them all again, and now there's a chance we won't be safe in this world ever. I shake my head. Just as I open my mouth to speak, pain suddenly strikes my mind and I let out a scream before collapsing to my knees. I hear Reginald and Andrew both shout my name, but it's Reginald's hands on my shoulders I feel.

But I can't hear anything anymore. 

My mind was screaming, high-pitched, and ear-shattering. Something was wrong, something was coming. I could see it despite my eyes being squeezed shut. It was a growing cloud of smokey gray. White outlined it slightly, then crimson red eyes suddenly appear in the middle of it. They glare into my soul as a bright white smile appears beneath them.

"I found you."

The voice was grating, unpleasant. It felt cold, cruel. I couldn't tear myself away from the ringing that was growing in my ears. The vision was growing larger, getting closer. The pain was beginning to sink in, and I was on the brink of tears. I couldn't take it anymore. This was worse than the time Herobrine was trying to take over my mind. I can't stop it. It's growing louder, getting closer. I can't shake it. Nothing was working. I could no longer feel Reginald's hand on my shoulders or the heat from the Nether surrounding me. I don't know what's happening. I don't know what to do. I can't stop it. I can't stop it-

Suddenly, the vision screams with pain and swirls. The eyes vanish in a flash of blinding white light, and I hear something speaking. The voice is familiar but so discreet that I can't fully be sure. The swirling smoke suddenly comes back into view, as if it refused to leave. The red eyes appear, but they seem less powerful. They are glaring… past me? The ringing was lowering as a bright light slowly seems to appear next to me, then pass me. I find myself watching this light carefully. It was a small ball, but I could feel the energy coming from it. Before I can question anything else, or make any solid conclusions, it fires a small ball of light, and the projectile collides with one of the eyes. The scream of pain radiates in my mind. The ball of light is swiftly before me, and I hear the voice faintly tell me to close my eyes.

For some unknown reason, I obey it.

Silence hits me like a brick wall and I feel myself gasp. My lungs scream for air, and I suck it in quickly. My eyes snap open wide. I drop my hands from my head to the ground, then one snaps up to my chest as pain sears through it. I huff, wheeze, and struggle to get oxygen in my lungs. I hear distressed warbling next to me, but I couldn’t speak yet. Finally, enough air enters my lungs, and I move my arm out. Reginald’s hand takes mine and slowly he helps me stand. I shake my head and lift it to see Andrew gazing deep into my eyes.

“I was right, wasn’t I? What did you see?”

I slightly gulp, feeling the piece in me shrink away. Andrew’s gaze was cold again, but I could tell not towards me. So, I carefully chose my words. “I… I think something, or someone else, is here, and they are definitely not friendly.” Andrew curses and steps away, but I shake my head. “It couldn’t have been from me, though! I didn’t add anything or even open the folder. How could it have slipped thr-'' Something tingles on my ender-half, and I stop. The tingle happens again, but it felt different. Andrew freezes as well, and I sense Reginald stiffen beside me. Confused, I mentally ask Reginald what was going on. His reply sends a cold sense of dread down my spine.

‘Someone else has just entered this world.’