If you ever think I'm only hurting you lot with my books, I am in just as much pain... I have just finished listening to my Spotify playlist where I kept spotting angstier and angstier songs that fitted one of the angstiest plotlines I'll ever write that is in this book.

:)

'Cub! Hey!' I turn, just about to leave to the Vex Lands, to see Jimmy running over, Tango not far behind him. 

'Hey Jimmy... do you... need anything?'

'No, no. Not at all. We were walking past, saw you and... wanted to chat.'

'How are you finding Hermitcraft?'

'It's... changed a lot since the crossover.' He admits. I nod. 

'Sure has... Tango, are you... recovering?'

'Recovering's a strong word. Coping would fit better... Jimmy's helped a lot though.'

'That's good.' I notice he's started caring for himself more too — his hair looks less tangled, and the dark circles under his eyes are fading. He's also gained back some of the weight he's lost from not eating much. Despite what I know Grian and Impulse are still insisting about his safety, Jimmy's been vital for Tango's mental health. 'I was just going to sort out stuff. With the... Vex.'

'About... Scar?'

'My magic.' I explain before I think too much about Scar. Progress on getting to the Sculk-world has stayed minimal. Pix has stopped showing up at all he's been working so hard. Jimmy nods.

'Magic's hard... and magical beings are even worse... the Watchers don't like me... kill me first in every Life Series... but hopefully this will be better than that.'

'Should be... I won't be gone too long. Hopefully. See you around.'

'Bye Cub!' 

Both Jimmy and Tango wave goodbye as I slowly create the portal to the Vex Lands I used to be able to create in seconds with magic. I step through, and disappear there.

Blue and grey surrounds me, a hum of magic I wish I felt inside too. I have a moment to gain bearings before... 

Pain. 

Blue. 

Vexes.

Attacking me.

'Wait! Wait! Wait I'm one of you! I'm a Vexling!' I hope I'm not lying by yelling. 'Please!' I hit the ground, trying to move out the way 'HIGH EVOKER! PLEASE!'

A command in the vex language. The vexes fall back, revealing me crouched, shaking, on my knees, bleeding from scratches all over. I glance up, for the first time in ages intimidated by the sight of the High Evoker, the leader of the Vexlings, standing there, surrounded by vexes, in sweeping black robes. A cold expression crosses their glowing white eyes.

'Cubfan135. You have a lot to explain.' 

Another command. A couple of the vexes pull me to my feet. The High Evoker already walks away. I limp after, into main room of the cathedral, doors closing behind, in silence.

'Possessed by,' they speak at last. 'Necklace broken, powers gone, another Vexling on the server, who shouldn't have even been there, dead, GoodTimesWithScar trapped in another dimension... and it's taken you this long to talk to us.' 

'Scar tried to get your help!'

'Scar ran away the moment the moment the Watchers acted like they always do. He gave us no time to help...' The leader looks me up and down. 'You're a mess.'

'Yeah. I've just been nearly killed by vexes.' 

'The vexes that attack any non-vexling who enter this world.'

Non-vexling.

The word runs through my head over and over. I fight the emotions rising up.

'This is more serious that you think. Sculk is known to weaken or smother magic, but not remove it. It broke the connection between you and the necklace, and then took control of your soul, severing your link to the Vex completely. It knows what it's doing. And it can do it again.'

'Scar.' I can barely say his name.

'Not even the All-Seeing Watchers can know what happens within the Land of Souls, but we fear the worst. You must get there as soon as you can.'

'The- the Land of Souls?'

'The Sculk's home. The place you are looking for.'

'We're trying to get there... but it doesn't make sense.'

'It doesn't make sense because you're looking for a different WORLD.' My confusion must be clear, as the leader sighs and explains 'The Land of Souls is a different dimension, different in every world. It is not like here or the the Watcher's lands. It's more like the Nether or End. Except the Land of Souls can only be accessed through cracks or severs by the Sculk, or players corrupted by it.'

'How do we get rid of them? Stop the Sculk coming through?'

'First you must rescue Scar. And then... you must deal with your respawn. The necklace has nothing to bond to. You are no longer a Vexling, and the Vex will not choose you again as they thinks you have abandoned them. We will help all we can, but our power is limited. And the Vex will not accept you here any longer.'

'And the cracks?'

'We don't know. It is almost impossible to research Sculk without being possessed or killed by it eventually. What you have on the server is already most of knowledge of it. We know the Watchers have some knowledge from research they are unwilling to share. You're on your own. If we find anything we will try to share it with you...' A glance up at where I've been ignoring the vexes diving closer and closer, constantly chittering and screeching. 'We cannot control the vexes much longer... you must go. And see if you can find Badtimes. He has a lot to explain too.'

'If you find a way to return Vexling magic... tell me. Please.'

'We will. Now go.'

A portal behind me. With one last look around at the Vex Land I never thought I'd be banished from, I step through and back into Hermitcraft.

Shouting.

I turn, seeing hermits gathered not that far away. Arguing. I hear Grian screaming something and break into a run.

'What's going on?' Jimmy's sobbing in Tango's arms while Scott an Martyn repeatedly asks if he's hurt next to him. Grian's still screaming, held back by Iskall, who's also in tears. Doc and Impulse stand further back.

And then I see it.

Thin cracks run along the ground. 

The puzzle pieces fit together... the extremity of Grian's reaction connects, what Jimmy said about the Watchers, him now crying with Scott and Martyn worried about him, and the cracks in the ground.

The sculk tried to take Jimmy.

But it got Mumbo instead.

:) 

*insert dramatic clock noises for y'all Stranger Things fans here*