Ex sat in the darkened shadows of a cramped cell, deep within the castle. He was not sure how long he had been sitting there, staring blankly out at nothing. He could see the light spilling through the bars of his cage, but his mind refused to focus on it, his mind refusing to think about anything but how cold and empty the dungeon felt.

His so-called 'mother' kept him here until he was ready to behave, like a toddler being put into time-out. The thought was humiliating, really. He hated being told what to do, hated being treated like a caged animal in a zoo. But it was better than being a mindless servant in a cult,  that's for damn sure.

Ex let out a long sigh as his thoughts wandered again, his mind returning to his current situation. Soon enough, Sylvia would lose patience with her son. It was only a matter of time before she took away his choice and forced him to join the cult. Ex couldn't stand the thought of being one of them, he'd much rather be dead than join such a vile group. And yet here he was, stuck in this hellish place with no chance of escape until the day his life ended.

The door suddenly slammed open; the sound echoing throughout the small room and bringing Ex back from his daze. His head shot up, his eyes immediately focusing onto his brother's form, which stood in front of the entrance to the prison. "Well, if it isn't the momma's boy." He sneered harshly, "Come to try and convince me to join you?"

Xisuma ignored the sly remarks, walking towards his brother's cell. "Xanthus—" he tried to speak, though Ex scoffed at him.

"You know my real name. Use it if you actually want me to talk to you."

"Your name is Xanthus." He said with a firm voice. The younger brother just rolled his eyes, ignoring what his brainwashed sibling had said.

Silence hung around them for a few moments, both brothers staring at each other without saying another word. The silver eye on Xisuma's mask was cold and unblinking, just like the rest of the cult members. Eventually, he sighed before shaking his head in defeat.

"Mother wants you to join us," X finally spoke, stepping closer to the bars of the cage. "I believe that she won't give you much of a choice if you keep denying her. We want you to come back to us, Xanthus! We want to be a family."

"Rot in hell." Ex spat, crossing his arms as he spoke.

The look on X's face turned sour; Ex knew that look far too well. As much as his twin cared for him, Xisuma was brainwashed and far more invested in the cult than Ex's well-being.
"Mother will not allow you to disobey her orders." He warned, looking directly at his little brother. Ex scoffed again.

"Oh yeah? Watch me." He growled, pulling himself out of the corner of his cage. He moved towards the bars, staring his brother in the eyes with a cold gaze. "Tell our 'mother' that I won't bow to this cult of hers."

"Please reconsider your decision..." Xisuma begged, reaching through the bars to grasp his little brother's arm. Ex pulled away instantly, glaring at his brother hatefully.

"Leave." He growled, clenching his fists. "I'm sick of talking to you."

The older brother seemed to hesitate for a brief moment, unsure whether or not to leave his sibling alone. Finally he gave a defeated nod, turning on his heel and exiting the dungeon before the other could change his mind. The door swung shut and Ex found himself back in the darkness once again, the silence overwhelming.

After a minute or two, Ex slowly slid down the bars, resting his chin against his knees and letting out a heavy sigh. After another minute passed and nothing seemed to change, Ex allowed himself to lay down on the floor of his cell, staring upwards at the ceiling as he mulled over everything his brother had told him.

Ex knew that he needed to find a way to get out of here, before he was just another mindless servant to the Silver Sun.

☼

Grian felt like his entire world had come crashing down around him.

He was at a standstill, frozen in horror and grief as tears streamed down his face.  Tears he would never stop shedding. He wanted to cry in despair, scream and shout in rage. Yet he could only watch as everyone's faces turned pale white, eyes wide open. Stress and Joe had the same reaction to him, as if they had completely ignored the watcher. They were more focused on the man who had just been crushed.

Forcing himself to take a step forward, the builder's legs were shaking uncontrollably. The sight of Mumbo being thrown by the explosion, only then to be crushed by his own machinery was burned into Grian's mind. It was like the scene was on repeat, forcing him to watch moment over and over again.

One step forward became two, then three, before Grian found himself running across the throne room towards the pile of debris. "MUMBO!" He cried out in horror, with a voice that was breaking from his tears. He still had time to save the redstoner, he could just be trapped, he could still be alive!

"Now, now." Sylvia chuckled with a dark voice, flicking her staff towards the side. Just as the Brit was about to reach the pile of broken parts and blocks, a glow of silver surrounded his body. He was thrown across the room, right back to the other two hermits, before slamming into the wall.

His head hit the hard material with a dull thunk, blood dripping from the wound caused by the impact. The pain was enough to bring him back to reality, but it took several moments to actually process what happened. Joe grabbed his arm, forcing Grian back onto his feet much faster than he was prepared for. He leaned on the southerner for support,  breathing raggedly in pain.

Sylvia was smirking at him, the smirk making the builder shudder involuntarily. She lifted one hand, silver flames erupting from nothing. "Let's not be too hasty, shall we?"

Her voice sounded sickly sweet, almost like she was trying to soothe Grian. However, it only served to irritate him further. "H-He needs our help! Mu-Mumbo, h-he's, he's—!"

"He is going to bleed out." The watcher said calmly, "His injuries must be severe, don't you think?"

Sylvia looked away from Grian, as if addressing the rest of them. "And yet, none of you do anything. All you do is stand there watching..."

"You can't do this! We have to go help him!" Grian tried again, sobbing as he spoke. Joe and Stress were still in too much shock to even think about what was going on, the two struggling to catch up with the situation. To them, everything was moving much too fast.

"I could save him."

The statement shocked Grian, his mouth forming an o shape. "Y.. You could?"

She nodded slowly, her smirk growing larger. "Of course, you will need to do something for me first."

Her hand extended towards Grian, a silver fire surrounding her palm. "Join me. Join the Silver Sun. I can save him, if you dedicate yourself to me."

"Grian, snap out of it!" Joe said while he placed a hand on the Brit's shoulder. "We can't let her win. You can't accept this deal!"

"But if I don't—"

"Your friend will be dead." Sylvia cut off before anyone else could say another word. Her hand grabbed the shorter male by his arm, wrapping her fingers tightly around Grian. With a tug, she forced the Brit closer towards her. His body began to shake violently against his will.

"This is your choice. Join me or watch him die." Sylvia's tone grew darker with every word she uttered.

She waved her other hand, causing the pile of debris to glow. The rocks and scrap were pushed aside as a figure was revealed in the center of the floor. Sylvia snapped her fingers together, causing the magic to surround Mumbo's unconscious figure. He was freed from the rubble and debris, though was then carelessly thrown against the tile ground in the center of the room.

He was soaked in blood, his clothes scratched and stained. He was breathing heavily, his chest moving up and down rapidly. Blood dripped down from the gash in his forehead, forming a large puddle beneath him. As he laid there, the group watched silently as he struggled to breathe, sweat collecting around his brow and rolling down his face. He looked as though he was fighting to stay alive.

"Grian, we can't—!"

"We can't let him die!" He cried desperately, causing Joe to bite his lip.

"He's right, Gri. Please, we're the last hermits left! We're the only ones who can free the others!" Stress pleaded with him, though it was clear that the builder wasn't listening.

"Mumbo is my best friend—" Grian said with a shaking voice, "—I-I'd never forgive myself if I could have saved him, but I chose not to."

Joe opened his mouth in an attempt to argue, though he was stopped by the sound of the door to the throne room opening. Xisuma walked in, barely giving a second glance to the crumpled bloody figures of one of his closest friends. He walked towards Sylvia, who straightened her posture as she freed Grian's arm from her grasp.

"He won't listen to reason. It's time to force him to join us."

"Your brother has always been stubborn. I was afraid that this might be the case." She sighed, before turning towards the hermits. "I will give you a moment to think about our conversation, Grian. There will be guards placed outside the door. I hope you three make the smart choice and stay put."

Sylvia walked out of the room, Xisuma following close behind his mother. The doors slammed as they left, which caused Grian to rush towards his best friend's side. He kneeled beside Mumbo's body, panicking at the blood that was slowly trickling out of the Redstoner's body. "M-Mumbo?! Mumbo, please! W-wake up!"

The other two hermits ran over, Stress carrying a shulker box filled with supplies. "Oh dear," she muttered in distress. "It looks like some of the rubble managed to pierce through his skin. These wounds are deep. Even if we had healing potions, they wouldn't do much.."

Grian choked back a sob, gently shaking the mustached hermit to try and wake him up. "M-Mumbo please!" He cried, "We can h-help! Y-you need to get up! Please!"

"What should we do? What if the wounds are infected?" Joe asked softly, his hands clenching and unclenching nervously.

"I..."

Suddenly, Mumbo began to cough violently. Blood sprayed from his mouth when he coughed, falling back onto the tiles. A groan escaped his throat, but it was quickly silenced by a loud gasp for air. When he breathed in again his lungs were burning with agony. His whole body ached terribly, especially his head.

"Mumbo? Mumbo can you hear me?!" Grian asked, panic filling his voice. "Are you okay?!"

His eyes fought to open, though he was barely able to keep them from closing again. "G—?" He tried to speak, though another wave of blood managed to eject out of his throat.

"Y-yes, I'm here. Please Mumbo, please stay will me!"

The redstoner was unable to respond, his hand shaking as he slowly reached into his pocket. He pulled a few things out, before grabbing the shorter male's hand and placing the items into his palms. "This—...was m-my back up." He chocked, coughing and wheezing as he tried to gasp for air.

It was a few random items, nothing that seemed too important. A single obsidian, blaze powder, and a few blocks of glass. "There's more items in the shulker boxes." He said weakly, "A ghast tear and an ender pearl. Y-you...you can make an end crystal. I-I thought th-that if the TNT didn't work, we co-could use magic to defeat her.."

"Mumbo—"

"I'm alright.." he coughed again. "You got to save the others."

"But...But you'll die."

"It's—...It's not as bas as it looks. I-I swear. I can hang on a little longer."

Stress ran over, carrying a few banners from the decoration shulker that they had managed to find earlier. The brunette ripped apart the flags, turning them into long strips of fabric. She wrapped them around each of the bloody wounds, trying to prevent him from bleeding even further. "You need to save the others." Mumbo said with a labored breath, "Please, Grian. We can't let Hermitcraft end."

"But—"

"Grian." The redstoner firmly spoke, his chocolate eyes locked with the builder's gaze. "Promise me you'll fight. We can't let them win."

"I-I...."

"I promise, Mumbo. We'll save everyone."

☼

Ha angst

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I reached out to an amazing artist on Wattpad to ask if they would be able to bring Sylvia to life. They did an AMAZING job, and she's just what I imagined her character to look like.

KitExists is so talented and skilled in their art, so make sure you check out their Wattpad and Instagram for more amazing artwork! Once again, a HUGE thank you to Kit and their stunning design.

And here she is! The lovely cult leader herself. It's so beautiful I swear I love it so much—