Xisuma leaned his back against the wall, struggling to catch his breath. Blood trickled from his stab wound, dripping into a puddle on the floor. The admin pulled his hand off the injury, his glove completely stained with red. He wiped the blood on his armor, a smudged handprint of crimson blood decorating his purple chestplate.

Stress was off looking through the chests in the house, trying to gather up materials for their escape, leaving Xisuma with his thoughts. The Brit tugged his communicator out of his pocket, staring down at the circular disk while reading over the main chat.

Based on the hermits conversations, they still weren't aware of what was about to come. The admin typed a message, hitting enter in hopes that the hermits could get to safety.

<Xisuma> There's no time to explain, but we're all in danger. Leave everything behind, and fly as far north as you can, until you reach the world border. Hide out until I get there. Don't waste any time. I'll explain everything when we're safe.

<MumboJumbo> what?

<Zedaph> omw

<cubfan135> this better not be a prank

<Xisuma> it isn't, I swear. Just meet me at the world barrier

'Hopefully I can make it there in time,' the admin thought to himself as he tucked the communicator back into his pocket, entering Ex's bedroom. Stress was searching through one of the chests, taking out a bit of cobblestone, redstone, wood, and other random bits that she could find.

"Did you find anything?" Xisuma asked while sitting down on the edge of his brother's bed, the brunette smiling as she shut the chest.

"It looks like mostly everything was cleared out, but I managed to find a few scraps all throughout the house. This should be enough to make a sticky piston and a button, meaning we can move the obsidian by the front door!"

Xisuma breathed a sigh of relief. "This is perfect. Thank you, Stress."

"You can thank me once we get out of here." Stress said, scooping the pile of materials into her arms. She walked over to the crafting table in the corner, crafting a piston before adding the slimeball.

She and Xisuma left the bedroom, heading to the front door. "I do have a question, though." Stress said to the admin.

"Why couldn't we just ask one of the hermits to get us out of here?"

"It's too risky," Xisuma said, "it could take too long for them to get here, and I don't want anything to happen to one of the hermits."

"I wish I knew what was going on. Does it have to do with Ex and Bdubs?"

"Yeah. But I'd rather explain it to everyone at once.." Xisuma said while pinching the bridge of his nose, the admin anxiously anticipating the watcher's arrival.

Stress broke the front door, beginning to move the obsidian into the house so that they could escape. "Whatever is happening, it'll be okay." She assured the panicking admin, hitting the button to pull the block of obsidian forward.

"I hope so," Xisuma said groggily, which Stress could hear in his voice. She glanced up at the Brit, frowning at his bleeding wound.

"I should really take care of that injury, X. It looks bad."

"I'll be fine, I can drink a healing potion when I get back to my base." Xisuma said, turning away as he headed into his bedroom.

His helmet, which had been sitting on his bedside table, had been knocked to the ground, most likely from the commotion that Ex and Bdubs had caused. Xisuma lifted his headgear off the ground, staring at his reflection in the visor. The glass was slightly cracked, but he didn't mind.

Xisuma was adjusting his helmet as Stress finished moving the last bit of obsidian, revealing a gap large enough to squeeze through.

"Remember, when we get out of here, leave everything behind and fly north. Try and find the others."

Stress nodded in understanding, following behind the admin as they left the small house. Ex's house was built into the side of the main island, with a spiral staircase leading back to the portal to the overworld.

They walked in silence, Xisuma moving quickly to return as fast as possible. He had already lost Bdubs and Ex, and that felt like it was tearing him apart on the inside. The admin felt like he couldn't live with himself if he lost anyone else.

The grumbles of endermen grew closer, until the two reached the surface of the island, Xisuma quickly glancing around at his surroundings in case of Ex or Bdubs.

"Let's hurry, who knows when Ex and Bdubs are coming back.." Xisuma said while grabbing Stress' wrist, wasting no time as he ran to the portal. They stepped onto the bedrock, on the edge of the portal. Stress looked at the admin, giving him a warm smile.

"See you soon." She said before jumping through, fading into the portal home. Xisuma took in a deep breath, and jumped after her.

The admin sat up in his bed, reappearing at his base in the jungle. Just as Xisuma pulled himself out of bed, his communicator buzzed with an alert, which made the Brit's stomach twist into knots. He reluctantly pulled out the device, staring down at the message on his screen.

<[Unidentified] joined the game>

Xisuma could almost feel the shift in the air, the cold magic that he felt around the watcher flooding through the server. The admin hurried to his enderchest, pulling out a shulkerbox with his spare gear and armor.

He grabbed as many rockets as he could before rushing out of his base, Xisuma panicking as he began to fly north. He needed to make it to the world border before that watcher did, before someone got hurt.

☼

Mumbo dropped six diamonds into a chest, pulling out rockets from Tango's shop. He wasn't sure if a stack of rockets was enough to make it to the world border, so he was stocking up, just in case.

As the redstoner walked down the stairs of the shop, he noticed a sweater-wearing hermit leaving the barge, Mumbo waving at Grian to get his attention.

"Hey, Gri!" The mustached hermit called, walking over to greet the builder.

"Oh, hey Mumbo." Grian said while tucking away a few stacks of golden carrots in a bag that was slung over his shoulder. "I was just grabbing some food and rockets before heading to the world border. You going too?"

The raven-haired man nodded his head. "Of course. Whatever Xisuma wants, it seems urgent."

"Well, let's head there togeth.."

Grian seemed to drift off mid-sentence, the builder placing a hand on the side of his head as the color drained from his cheeks. A gust of cold wind brushed through his hair, but it felt...off.

Mumbo raised an eyebrow in concern. "You look like you just saw a ghost. Everything alright?"

"Y..yeah, I'm just confused." Grian said while looking off into the distance. "Did you feel that too? The air, it just got colder."

The redstoner shrugged. "I mean, I guess..?"

"That's odd. It feels like Evo." The builder said, scratching the back of his neck. He couldn't explain the feeling, but Evo had always felt different from other servers.

"That old server of yours?"

"Yeah, I left it before I came to hermitcraft. But the reason that the air felt different there was-"

Grian was interrupted by silver sparks on the ground, which caused the wind to turn brutal. It seemed to blow against the two hermits, causing their hair to wave with the violent breeze.

The sparks transformed suddenly, turning into a silver fire that was taller than Mumbo. The swirling and twisting of the flames reminded Grian of a nether portal, but silver and white.

The builder glanced to the right, Mumbo's eyes filled with horror as they fixated on the fire. The former evolutionist's attention turned back to the flames, his eyes widening as a figure stepped through the fire, unharmed.

She was extremely tall, two pairs of wings on her back, as well as a mask on her face in the shape of a half-sun. Grian noticed the symbol that was carved into the mask, it was the same symbol from Evo. She also held a long black staff with silver details, the head of the weapon shaped like a sun.

"So..this is hermitcraft." She said, examining the shopping district around her. The watcher looked to Mumbo, who was frozen in horror, shaking fearfully.

"There's no reason to fear, I'm here to help." She stated calmly, slightly lifting her staff off the ground. The sun on her weapon had a horizontal black line, which opened into an eye.

The eye in the center of the sun lit up, transforming into a glowing white. Grian raised his arm in front of his eyes, looking away from the blast of white light that shot out of the staff.

But Mumbo was practically hypnotized by the glow of the eye, watching with his eyes wide open as the watcher's staff let out a blast of light. The redstoner let out a horrifying cry of sheer pain, falling to his knees while his hands covered his face.

As the light died down, Grian glanced towards Mumbo, his hands moving away from his face. The Brit's eyes widened in horror, the same mask that he had put on Bdubs now resting over the mustached hermit's eyes.

"M-Mumbo?!" The builder asked, his voice shocked as the mustached hermit got to his feet, straying away from Grian. He moved to the watcher's side, standing loyal beside her.

The watcher studied Grian for a moment. "You're the one that Taurtis described, the one he said would come back to save him."

Grian froze at the name of his friend. "T-taurtis? But he and the other evolutionists disappeared after I left!"

The watcher didn't speak, she only smiled, tapping the bottom of her staff against the ground. The fire behind her grew, and another figure stepped through. His skin was tan, and he was wearing a blue shirt with black pants and suspenders, as well as a pair of red and blue checkered headphones.

Grian was dumbfounded, pressing his lips into a thin line as he studied his two best friends, both wearing a black mask with a silver eye. They didn't speak, they only stood beside the watcher.

She bent down, now eye-level with the builder, extending her hand to him. It was another mask, identical to the one that Mumbo and Taurtis wore.

"Join us," she said, "your evolutionist friends have missed you. They'd love to have you join the order of the Silver Sun."

Grian's eyes studied the mask, the Brit shakily breathing as he stepped away, slowly reaching for one of the rockets that was in his bag. The watcher frowned, straightening to her full height.

"Fine," she said, handing the mask to Mumbo. "you don't have to join us willingly, but you will join us, whether you like it or not."

She tapped the bottom of her staff against the ground before pointing it at Grian, causing the eyes on Taurtis and Mumbo's mask to blink in unison, the two turning towards the hermit.

"Get him."

The builder snatched a rocket out of his bag and turned towards the inside of the barge, flying through the shop and out of the open ceiling.

Grian knew that he could easily outfly the two, but he also knew that those masks were doing something to his friends. They radiated the same kind of energy from the watcher portals or the watcher obelisks in Evo, but it felt worse. Much colder, some form of twisted magic.

He flew higher and higher, until he could see all of the shopping district. He looked down, Grian's eyes widening as he spotted Mumbo flying after him, while Taurtis used a bow to shoot at him from the ground.

'I gotta get to Xisuma, he can stop this..' Grian thought as he fired another rocket, climbing higher through the air to try and escape the two. Mumbo reached up as he flew after the builder, the mustached hermit managing to grab Grian by the ankle.

"You're doing something that you'll regret, Grian!" Mumbo yelled over the wind.

"And you're insane!" Grian shouted in response, using his other leg to kick the redstoner in the chest, Mumbo letting go of the builder's ankle as he tumbled out of the sky.

The raven haired male managed to steady himself in midair, firing another rocket to race after Grian through the sky. Mumbo began to fly higher, soaring above the Brit. When he was directly over Grian, the mustached hermit dove down, tackling the builder in the air.

"Mumbo, stop! This is crazy, you're going to kill us both!" Grian yelled, but the redstoner didn't respond. He gripped the mask in one hand, the other forcing Grian to turn through the air so that they would be face-to-face.

The builder held Mumbo's wrist, holding him back from placing the mask onto his face. "Don't fight this!" Mumbo yelled as they fell through the air, the two growing closer to the surface of the ocean. "We're going to be saved! All of hermitcraft!"

"Sorry, Mumbo." Grian said, using his free hand to grab the edge of the taller male's elytra. "But I can't let you do this."

He tore off a large chunk of the bug-like wings, Grian placing both legs onto Mumbo's chest, using his force to push off of the redstoner.

Firing a rocket just before hitting the surface of the water, Grian flew off in horror. He looked down at the piece of Mumbo's elytra that he clutched in his hands, tears beginning to roll down his face. The builder tightly shut his eyes, continuing to fly in search of Xisuma. If anyone could fix this, it was him.

Mumbo stumbled through the air, using the remains of his elytra to soften his impact against the water. He swam back to the shopping district, coughing as he made it to the shore. Taurtis was waiting by the edge of the water, offering his hand to the redstoner.

He pulled Mumbo out of the water, the two silently heading back to the barge, where the watcher was waiting for them.

"He got away, ma'am." Taurtis reported to the watcher as he approached, her back facing the two.

"It's alright, for now." The watcher said, gripping her staff as she turned to the two. "But now, we need to get the others."

She tapped the staff against the ground, silver flames swirling around her weapon, the fire behind the watcher beginning to expand. More figures stepped out into hermitcraft, all wearing masks with the same lifeless silver eyes.

Ex and Bdubs flew over the shopping district, joining the large group, the two landing beside Mumbo and Taurtis.

Once everyone had arrived, the watcher grinned. "Now," she said, turning her attention towards Mumbo. "where are they headed?"

"North." The redstoner said, "Xisuma told all the hermits to head to the world border, but nothing more."

The watcher turned to the large group that had stepped through the fiery portal, all players of servers that she had taken over previously. "Head to the hermits bases, make sure you search everyone in case they haven't left for the world border yet. Make sure every player who isn't wearing a mask joins us."

She looked back at the hermits. "As for the rest of you, we're heading to the world border. But first-"

The watcher lifted her staff of the ground, a bright silver glow radiating off the top of her weapon. More fires began to form, the silver flames beginning to burn the shopping district, turning the island into a place of ash and debris.

She looked to the sun, a sliver of its golden glow beginning to morph into a dull silver, just as it had done to Evo so long ago.

"This server shall completely burn in twenty-four hours." She said, looking to her loyal followers. "Return to me once all the hermits join us. Either that, or let them burn in the flames."