"First you all were entertaining. Then you were impressive. And now..." Sylvia's grip tightened around her staff, a terrifying fury growing in her set of eyes. "Now you hermits are downright obnoxious."

She tapped the bottom of her staff against the floor of the throne room, causing a shockwave of energy to rush through. Unlike the previous wave of power she attacked with, this energy seemed to phase right through the hermits without any harm. That is, until their bodies began to glow with a silver light. The four survivors were lifted off the ground before they had a moment to react. Sylvia pointed her staff forward, which caused the hermits to be launched forward.

"This has gotten annoying." The watcher said as Ex was lifted off of the floor, surrounded by the same magic that the hermits found themselves trapped in.

Xisuma managed to get back into his feet after his brother was removed from atop him, the admin staring at the five who were bloody and worn from their worthless attempts at a rebellion. "Pathetic." He scoffed, straightening his posture as he stood beside his mother.

The five of them were held captive, stuck firmly in place while floating just slightly above the ground. His hands were stuck by his side and his legs were straight, he had been forced into this position. Joe tried to move his arm, even just a single finger, but it was like he had no control over himself anymore.

"I wouldn't try to struggle so hard," She said while shooting a glare towards the southerner, as if she could sense that he was trying to move. "The more you squirm the more pressure my magic will harm you with. It shall squeeze the life out of you with each subtle breath you try to take before you eventually pop. Now, I personally do not enjoy the sight of blood and guts, but I think I would enjoy seeing yours spilling out..."

Mumbo's face went pale at her words. Sylvia laughed. "Do not look so afraid, MumboJumbo. This shall not be your demise. Not yet, at least."

"W-What are you going to do with us?" Stress asked, on the brink of tears from pure horror.

"I'm not quite sure yet," The watcher hummed, dragging a pointed fingernail along the brunette's cheek. "I have so many ideas. So many ways to dispose of you five. I could keep you locked in the dungeon for the rest of eternity. I could have you tortured. I could simply turn you all into ash with a single blast of magic. The possibilities are limitless, but I know one thing for certain; I want to make it painful."

Grian swallowed the lump in his throat. They needed to find a way to get out of this mess. "But why?" He asked, "Why do all of this? What's the point?"

"Trying to stall?" Her head cocked to the side with a gross smile of pride growing across her face. "Taurtis warned me that you were a bit of a trickster. But it's pointless anyway. You can't escape."

"At least tell us!" The builder urged, nervousness growing in the pit of his stomach.

"If it shall give you peace before your death, then I shall permit it." Sylvia said while raising her hand, before closing it into a fist. The aura of magic surrounding Grian's body suddenly tightened, squeezing the breath out of his lungs.

"I have created paradise. A utopian society. Servers are filled with resentment and war, before being completely abandoned. I am the angel who saves these broken worlds. I gave them a new purpose. I gave them everything. I freed them from themselves. Now they serve me as we continue to spread the light of the Silver Sun!"

Her tightened hold on Grian finally released, allowing him to gasp for breath. The watcher stepped closer. "Your friends have found their purpose here. They are now united in a world that shall never abandon them. They are a part of me. Their thoughts are mine. Their actions are mine. They are mine."

"You're just a puppeteer to everyone who wears one of those stupid masks." Ex grumbled underneath his breath, eyes narrowed in his brother's direction.

"Perhaps I am. But I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. I won't allow my perfect world to have infestations like you five. You won't be my puppets because you'll be dead."

Xisuma lifted his sword off of the ground, walking slowly towards his sibling. "Let me be the one to kill him, mother." He said with a voice unrecognizable to his own, dragging the blade against his brother's neck. "I want to watch the life leave his eyes. I want to show him that I am superior to him. That I am your superior creation."

The smile across his face was one of a maniac, his expression dark and twisted. "I'll do it with my bare hands, if I must."

"Calm yourself, my child." Sylvia said while she placed a hand on Xisuma's shoulder. "There are still four more hermits we must take care of. Your dear brother isn't the only one who must suffer."

"Yes. Yes, of course." He said hesitantly at first, though his confidence returned the second time the admin spoke.

"You're growing rather impatient to kill Xanthus, aren't you? Do not forget, we have other priorities."

"I apologize, mother." Xisuma bowed his head slightly.

"Now then, what shall we do with you five? Maybe I should simply tear you apart, limb by limb...Or I should let you burn in the silver flames that destroyed your server...Oh, I know." Her lips curled into a devious smile that held ill intentions. "Why, I'll have the hermits do it. I'll have them be the ones to kill you. Who better than your closest friends—no—your family?"

She glanced towards Xisuma. "Gather the hermits. Have them bring their weapons."

"Right away." He said, hurrying out of the throne room.

"Now, then." The watcher straightened her posture as she spoke. Her fingers snapped together, the magic surrounding the five that kept them suspended in the air beginning to fade away. "I'll let you have your last few moments together. I hope you do not try anything idiotic."

With that, she turned to the crumbled pile of debris that used to be her throne. She pointed her staff towards the former seat, which caused the crumbled pieces of rubble to begin to glow. As if she had turned back time, the throne began to piece itself back together, like the explosion of the end crystals was reversed.

The five watched as Sylvia climbed the steps to her throne before taking a seat. No one spoke, everyone's gaze fixated on the watcher. Grian could hear a low sniffling coming from beside him, as if someone was desperate trying to hold back tears. After a few more moments of silence his eyes finally broke away, spotting Mumbo on the verge of breaking down.

"I-is...is this really it?" He asked to break the silence, confused and horrified. "I-..I don't want to die, Grian. I d-d—..." The redstoner couldn't get through his sentence before he began to cry, his voice breaking into sobs.

Stress was the first to wrap her arms around the tall Brit. She didn't say anything. Normally her cheerful attitude would try and look on the bright side of things, yet the brunette said nothing. Her eyes seemed hollow, lifeless, as if all her hope was gone.

"We should have joined them." Joe spoke up, "All this could have been avoided if we weren't so stubborn. We could have just joined the other hermits, then we wouldn't have to die!"

"M-maybe if we beg, she'll let us join." Stress finally said with an unsteady voice, clearly holding back the tears in her eyes.

Grian hated to think about it, but he knew that Joe and Stress were right. All of this could have been avoided if they had simply joined the Silver Sun. No one would die. Everyone would be together. But it was too late now, they were set to be killed. Killed by the friends that they had know for years.

"Oh, come on." Ex scoffed, causing the attention of the hermits to turn to the admin's brother. "Are you four seriously giving up now? I don't like being the optimistic one who gives a pep talk, but since no one else will, I guess it's my job now."

He crossed his arms, his posture straightening as he spoke. "If you've come this far, then you've managed to evade Sylvia and your brainwashed friends more than once. She may have limitless power, but she's far from flawless. She thinks she's some kind of goddess who is above low-life players. Her arrogance has allowed you to survive. Even now, just by freeing us from her magic, she's showing that she doesn't truly see us as a threat."

"You're saying that you still think we can kill her? With what, exactly?" Joe asked.

"Her staff, like I said earlier. We just need to steal it from her. Shouldn't be too hard."

Mumbo and Grian shared a look of caution at the plan. "And...How do you expect us to grab it when the other hermits get here? They want to kill us!" The redstoner added, "Besides, if we get too close she'll probably use her magic to squeeze us to death."

"I'm not sure...but those end crystals did something. Her body is damaged, it might not have killed her, but she's definitely weaker." Ex thought aloud, keeping Sylvia in the corner of his eyes.

There was a knock on the doors of the throne room, which caused the remaining five survivors to freeze up for a moment. "Stay back." Joe instructed while taking a few steps to distance himself from the doors, fear beginning to make his heart race.

"Right on time." Sylvia mentioned with a smirk across her face, raising her staff. Magic surrounded the doors, causing them to fly open on their own.

Xisuma entered first, his appearance different from his usual armor. The color had drained away into a light silver and gray that was obviously meant to resemble his mother's magic and flames, he even wore a cape that seemed to faintly sparkle in the light. The admin stepped forward, stabbing his sword into the ground.

"It's rather flashy, but I like it." He said, one hand gripping the end of the sword's handle. "Wouldn't you agree, my friends?"

For a brief moment, his voice sounded natural. It sounded like regular old Xisuma. Though Ex refused to let his guard down, this was not his brother.

"Grian! You've always had an eye for this kind of thing. All those outfits of yours, I remember them. What do you think?"

He refused to speak, mainly out of fear. Xisuma frowned. "Not even a word? Any of you? My, it's like you think we're monsters."

"Come on, Joe." Cleo spoke up, her voice causing the southerner to flinch. "We're not evil. We're still your friends."

"That sword in your hand says otherwise." He countered, "We know you're here to kill us. Let's stop acting all friendly."

"We can't let you kill our watcher. She's given us a new place to call home." Iskall shrugged with a careless smile across their face.

"You're all still our friends!" Scar added, "But we can't just ignore what you've been trying to plot!"

Doc and Wels stepped forward next, the two standing beside Xisuma. "We were wrong about this place. We didn't need to save the hermits, they needed to save us." The creeper hybrid explained, no emotion coming from the silver eye on his mask.

"This is a utopia, guys. We won't let you tear that away from us." The knight said while raising his blade.

Ex felt his jaw tighten. "Well, I hope you guys are good at PVP," He said to the four hermits on his side. "Because I think we're going to fight them."

"Are you crazy?! That's five of us versus twenty of them! Not counting the other players who have been brainwashed into this cult." Mumbo nearly snapped.

"Just don't get stabbed. Easy." Grian muttered sarcastically, though his voice was clearly fearful of the battle that was yet to come.

"Enough of this chatter." Sylvia called from her throne, causing the brainwashed hermits to listen mindlessly to her commands. "I want these four killed. As for Xanthus, leave him to Xisuma."

"I thought you said you were gonna kill us yourself, mom." Ex spoke tauntingly.

"And what fun would that be? It would be much better for the people you used to love and trust to kill the five of you. The betrayal as your friends force you to take your final breath. The rush as they drive the sword through your heart...riveting, isn't it?"

'Those end crystals definitely took some energy out of her. She won't fight us herself. I just need to keep Xisuma off my back, then maybe—'

His thoughts were interrupted by a kick to his stomach, causing Ex to tumble backwards. He wasn't wearing his armor to soften the blow, he had abandoned it back in the dungeon. "I would say it was clever to trick us, putting your armor on Bdubs, but now you don't have anything to stop my sword." His brother sneered with a villainous smirk across his face.

"It will be a shame to get this new armor ruined," he said with a sigh. "But I'll make an exception for your blood. Even if it stains my new cape."

"You sound like mom, gross." Ex rolled his eyes.

"You'll regret those words soon enough." Xisuma mentioned as his posture straightened."You'll regret ever denying the Silver Sun. I'll make sure to kill you nice and slow."

Ex glanced over to Mumbo and the others, who were waiting for the brainwashed hermits to make the first move. "You guys can handle them for a while, right?"

"We'll try at least." Grian spoke with uncertainty.

"Try and get the staff. We'll hold them off for as long as we can." Joe said.

"Alright." Ex nodded, turning his attention back to his brother.

It was time to finish this.