I need to remember to update this on time lol.

Pearl could feel their terrible power before she realised what was happening. That woefully familiar feeling in her stomach gave her enough time to duck and cover as the building in front of her burst into towering violet flames.

She dove behind a stray chest monster and less than a second later the pathway she'd been crouching on was a smoking crater. The scared woman peeked at her attacker from her hiding place.

Rather than the spine-chilling gods she was expecting, the reality was much more confusing. Grian's birds were flapping six pairs of wings each. The original feathered pair, and two ghostly new ones. Transparent eyes flew around them, catching fire seemingly at random before speeding in her direction.

When the flaming eye made contact with the barrels, it exploded and sent her flying backwards. She barely had enough time to react. Still utterly confused as to why Grian would weaponise his birds, his birds of all things. And why were they attacking her? You'd have thought Grian would make sure they didn't react to players with this kind of power.

She ran into a gutted building where she began to slim the cliff face and escape through the non-existent back. There was no chance she could fight them and come out victorious.

"Oh, evolutionist? Don't hide from us."

That's when it finally dawned on her that this wasn't Grian's security system. He would never refer to her like that. No. This was the work of the Watchers. These birds were possessed.

Pearl screamed in pain as one of their fire eyes caught her leg. She probably woke the whole village but her priorities were a tad more dire. The flames danced around her tauntingly as she started to black out, the agony becoming too much to bear.

Luckily for Pearl, her cries did indeed heard. Just not by who she'd thought.

++++++++

The ex-Watcher lay in his bed on the small landmass he'd crashed on. After doing an *amazing* job at deceiving the other Hermits with his *legendary* lying skills, he travelled out to sea and away from civilization. He flew until his wings grew tired and had stumbled into a shaky landing.

He managed to drag his exhausted body to a tree and make himself a small shelter to spend the night. After collapsing into bed, he couldn't find the energy to move his physical body anymore, so he used his spirit.

Disconnecting one's consciousness isn't as hard as it sounds. At least, not with near god-like power the littlest Watcher could wield. It was what you'd imagine begging a ghost to be like. Players could also enter this state but not on their own. Banishment to this plane of existence was a harsh punishment that very few players deserve. You had to do some horrendous stuff to get here.*coughcough*samgladiator*coughcough*

Interacting with the human without the use of magic was impossible like this. You were forced to watch as the world you once called home grew and adapted without you. Living forever and seeing all your loved ones die while you couldn't do anything. Similar to a Watcher but worse. A spectator.

Grian always hated passing through reality like this but he needed to scan the server for more magical activity while his body rested. He scanned the area around the last portal that had appeared but found nothing too concerning. The small avian knew where he should be checking but kept putting off the boatem village out of dread.

He felt a sudden spike of magic right where he was expecting. He sped towards the alleyway in time to see... his birds? They definitely look like them, if they became eldritch horrors. Even from thousands of blocks away he could tell their brains were infected with a powerful spell. He hadn't noticed until now that they weRE ATTACKING PEARL!

His mind snapped back leaving him with a huge headache but that didn't after. His body throbbed with pain from not having enough energy to make the flight normally, but adrenaline was guiding him. He pushed himself to bend the world around him as he flew. The only thoughts going through his head were about his friend in danger.

The trip that had originally taken him hours was now over within a few minutes. Grian knew that every second could spell the difference between Pearl's life or death.