Xisuma stepped forward, dragging the netherrite blade behind him. The magic from the sword left a trail of silver flames, the tip scraping against the stairs of the throne.

Ex stepped forward, holding out his arms to keep the other hermits behind him. "Sylvia!" He called, keeping his gaze focused on his brother. "I'll join you. But you need to let these hermits go. They just wanted to make sure their friends were okay. Let them return to their server, and I'll come peacefully."

She chuckled, two fingers resting on her cheek as she took her seat on the throne. "You had your chance, Xanthus. When you escaped, it made me think, and I don't really need you. I never have. Your dear brother has always been the perfect prodigy, while you...well, you have been anything but an obedient soul."

His expression slowly morphed from rage to confusion while she spoke. "Wait, does that mean—"

"Yes. I'll be disposing of you. There's no need for a rebellious soul such as yourself." The watcher said with the wave of her hand, a smirk across her face as she spoke. "Xisuma, take care of these four. There's no need for them in the Cult of the Silver Sun."

The admin bowed his head. "Of course, mother."

"'Suma, we're your friends." Joe stepped forward, attempting to reason with him. "We've known you for years now! Think about all the time we've spent together!"

"I have." He said, raising his weapon over his head. "And I don't care. You four are in our way. I'll eliminate anyone in our way."

Xisuma swung the blade forward at full force, barely missing Joe's chest. The tip of the sword managed to slice through his shirt, leaving a slash mark along the '@' symbol on his top. His weapon managed to slam into the floor, which cracked the tile of the throne room. A blast of silver energy shot off of the sword, like a shockwave that threw the four hermits back.

Grian slammed his back against one of the many columns that lined the room, groaning upon impact. The wind was knocked out of him from the force of the attack, his breath leaving his lungs as he tried to regain control over himself. His vision was blurred, though the Brit tried his best to make out the figures of the other hermits. Ex seemed to be back on his feet already, while Stress and Joe were taking longer to recover.

"It didn't have to be like this," Xisuma called, his voice echoing from the high ceilings of the grand room. His voice was eerily lifeless and cold, as if they all meant nothing to the admin. "We all could have been together. But you've ruined that opportunity for yourselves. Now I'll have to tell the hermits that you stood in the way. They'll understand. Sacrifices need to be made."

"Xisuma, please—" Grian tried to speak reasonably, his legs shaking as he used the large pillar as support to help him stand. "What about Hermitcraft? What about our friends?"

"They have accepted our new purpose," He said while approaching Grian. "We were trapped on Hermitcraft. Now we can forever live in unity and peace, while helping liberate other servers from conflict. Just like how we were liberated from our own conflicts and pain."

His gloved hand wrapped around Grian's neck, forcefully lifting the Brit off the ground. Xisuma pulled him closer, a devilish grin across his face while the silver eye on his mask remained emotionless. "Now I'll liberate you from all your pain." He said while raising his sword. Xisuma pulled back his weapon, moments away from shoving the blade straight through Grian's chest.

Something was thrown towards him, exploding upon impact with the admin's shoulder. He dropped Grian in shock, stumbling backwards from the pain of the blast. Xisuma glanced towards the direction of the attack, gripping the burns along his arms that were a result of the explosion.

Ex stared at his brother from across the room, his expression unreadable. "Back off, X. I don't want to hurt you."

"That's a shame." Xisuma sighed while dragging his gloved finger along the blade of his sword. "But it'll be so much easier to kill you that way."

He ran at Ex with his weapon in hand, though his brother managed to jump out of the way, rolling before he hit the ground. He landed near Stress and Joe, both still disoriented. Joe's iron sword had slipped from his grasp, leaving it on the floor next to him. Ex snatched it without a second thought, raising the blade above his head to counter a strike from Xisuma.

"Tsk," He scoffed, "Do you really think you can win? Even if you defeat me, there is an army of players beyond these castle walls. They'll find you and finish what I couldn't."

"I think you talk too much." His brother argued before preforming a low kick that managed to sweep the admin off his feet. Xisuma fell to the ground, dropping his sword. Ex kicked away the blade, causing it to slide across the floor. He then pointed his own weapon at his brother, eyes cold and merciless. Though he didn't seem very intimidating, as X simply laughed.

"You won't kill me." He said with a smirk across his face. "I know you won't."

"Maybe not. But I can keep you busy while the others take down Sylvia." Ex replied with his own smirk.

Xisuma growled underneath his breath before copying the low kick his brother had used, managing to catch Ex off-guard. The admin pushed himself off of the ground as he ran to grab his weapon, while his sibling was a few seconds behind him. The admin grabbed his sword before turning to slash the blade at Ex, who held up his own sword to block.

As the two continued in their duel, Stress and Joe ran over to Grian. He was hiding behind one of the columns, still a bit shaken up from the close encounter with death he faced. "Are you alright?" The brunette asked with a hushed voice, causing him to nod.

"I'm alright. A little too close for comfort on the timing, though."

"Ex used his end crystal to get Xisuma's attention." Joe said, pulling out his own crystal. "We only have three left. They might be our only chance at finishing this."

The other hermits pulled out their own crystals as well. "What should we do?" Stress asked with worry. "If this doesn't work then we could be done for."

"Well, let's hope Mumbo was right. That's all we can really do at this point."

"We need obsidian." The southerner thought aloud. "We can't just throw these crystals like Ex did. That won't be enough. If we can place obsidian close enough to her, the end crystals will do way more damage."

"Well where are we gonna get obsidian?" Grian asked.

Stress glanced towards the watcher's throne. "Do you think Mumbo could have some on him? He had a ton of materials with him for the TNT duplicator."

"At this point, anything is worth a shot." Joe mumbled.

"Let's hope she's distracted with Ex and X. We don't have much time before she realizes we're here too." Grian said, running behind the columns with Joe and Stress close behind.

Sylvia didn't seem to notice them, her attention focused on the duel between her children. The three rushed behind her throne, spotting Mumbo sitting with bloodstained clothes. His eyes widened at the sight of the others, a sparkle of hope seeming to reignite. "Is everything okay? I didn't want to check in case I was spotted, but I've heard a lot of commotion." He whispered.

"We're...trying to handle it." Joe responded, "But what we really need is obsidian. Do you have any on you?"

"I think I have a few blocks. I grabbed it by accident and just never thought to throw it out." The redstoner mentioned, handing over the blocks.

"Alright. Grian, can you give me a boost?"

"What are you planning, Joe?" Stress asked in a whisper-yell.

"I'm gonna try and get as close as possible." He said as the builder helped him up to the back of the throne.

Xisuma stumbled backwards, his armor scratched from his brother's sword. He raised his weapon, nearly about to lunge forward in an attack, though he managed to catch a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye.

He turned to see Joe placing a block of obsidian near the top of the throne, before placing an end crystal atop it. Stress was using her iron pickaxe to mine through the armrest of the seat on each side, where Joe placed two more obsidian and two more end crystals.

"M—" Xisuma tried to speak, though was caught off guard when his brother tackled him to the ground.

"Alright," Joe whispered. "On the count of three, we'll all hit our end crystal."

All three of the hermits stood by one of the crystals on the throne, with Grian on Mumbo's shoulders to reach the top crystal.

"Please hurry," The mustached hermit said. "I'm not sure how much longer I can stay standing."

"Ready?"

"One.."

"Two.."

"THREE!"

Xisuma watched with wide eyes as the crystals all exploded, blowing the throne, and the watcher to bits. Smoke filled the room, a large cloud of gray hanging over the remains of the royal seat. "MOM!" He yelled, fighting to break free from his brother's grasp. Ex kept him pinned to the ground, preventing him from moving just an inch.

Ex smiled to himself. "It's finally done. Come on, Xisuma. Let's get this thing off of you." He said, tugging at his brother's mask. It refused to budge, remaining stuck to the admin's face. Ex's smile quickly turned to a worried frown. He turned his head back to the throne, watching as the clouds of charcoal smoke began to clear.

Sylvia stepped out of the smog, parts of her long cloak burned while her mask was partially broken. You could see her left eye now, or rather eyes. Above and below her normal eye was another set of eyes, showing the more inhuman side of her. Her normally glowing silver wings looked stained and dark from the explosion, while her hair had fallen out of its long braid.

In her hand she gripped her staff, which began to radiate with a silver glow. "Enough of this." She said with anger lingering in her voice, the tips of her feathers beginning smoke before her wings broke out in silver flames.

"You hermits have been a thorn in my side for TOO LONG. Might as well kill you myself."