Herobrine dodged easily and swung his pickaxe at me. I tried to dodge but the tip of his pickaxe caught my left hand.

I pulled my hand out quickly, wincing at the pain. My hand was bleeding, the blood was slowly dripping on the floor. I was lucky that it was my left hand that got injured, because I was a right hander.

"Pathetic," Herobrine mocked. "I expected more from you."

He charged towards me at lightning fast speed. I raised my sword and it collided with his pickaxe with a loud clang.

I attempted to push forward with my sword, but Herobrine overpowered me and sent my sword flying towards where Rose was.

Panic surged in my heart as I realised that I was defenseless. I took a step back as Herobrine advanced towards me.

"Too easy," he taunted, rising his pickaxe.

I jumped backwards, landing awkwardly, but I had escaped his attack - for now.

I rushed towards my sword. However, Herobrine got there first and kicked my sword further.

"Surrender, it's the end for you," he laughed.

"It's not over yet," I said, my heart pounding against my chest rapidly. A sudden thought came to me.

Why didn't I think of that before?

I took out an ender pearl and threw it towards the direction of my sword. Unfortunately, the ender pearl landed far from the sword, but at least it would give me enough time to get my sword.

"What?" Herobrine said.

I managed to get my sword and pointed it at him, feeling braver. I charged towards him and both our weapons hit each other with a deafening clang.

I mustered my remaining strength and pushed on. My determination was growing and I could feel myself hitting with more strength by the minute.

"Foolish child!" Herobrine spoke, sending a fireball at my chest. "You think you, an amateur, can defeat me?"

The fireball flung me towards the wall of the castle, leaving me breathless. Herobrine advanced, his eyes glowing brighter than ever.

I struggled to get up. My legs seemed ready to give up and the pain from my left hand was unbearable. My whole body is giving up, I realised with a sinking feeling.

I broke out in cold sweat as Herobrine came closer. He rised his pickaxe and I tried as hard as I could to get away from his attack.

Overwhelming pain hit me. There was a large wound on my chest and I could feel myself losing consciousness.

"You are defeated," Herobrine said in triumph. His words sounded muffled to me.

My head was ringing as I fought to keep awake, to take my sword and stab him when he was still distracted, but my body refused to listen.

Herobrine continued to speak. I could make out a few words. "The... necklace will... be mine!"

"Don't give in." Through my foggy mind, I could hear those words, but there was no way that Herobrine said it. If he did not say it, who did?

Strangely, those words seemed to click something in my mind. My hand was weak, but my will was strong. A surge of strength hit me and I stabbed Herobrine in his stomach.

He let out a terrible choking sound. He tried desperately to heal the wound, but failed as I refused to remove my weapon from his chest.

Herobrine collapsed as the burst of strength that fueled me fadded away. My headache intensified and a wave of darkness hit me.

I did it, I thought, before falling into the deepest sleep of my life.

~~~~

Rose woke up with a terrible headache. The magic lock on the cage disappeared and she opened the cage door hesitantly.

The floor was stained with blood. That was what she first noticed. Rose looked around and froze.

She saw Herobrine, sprawled on the ground, slowly fading away. Nearby, a girl wearing a red and white striped shirt lay on the ground, unmoving.

It's Frost! she realised, gasping in shock, recognising the person who initiated the building of the Kingdom and her friend.

She saved me, Rose thought, tears welling up in her eyes. She saved everyone.

She knew that hoping that Frost will respawn is useless, because respawning for a second time was unlikely.

Rose clutched her necklace tightly. I won't let you down.