Fire.

Silver, glistening flames.

Except, it wasn't a dream this time.

It was all real, it was all so painfully real.

Xisuma had no choice but to run, to flee, hoping that the other hermits would make it in time. His heartbeat echoed in his ears, adrenaline coursing through his veins, panic and fear stirring up his thoughts.

'I should have been more prepared, I should have gotten us to safety the moment I had that dream!' The admin scolded himself mentally, soaring over the treetops to try and make it to the world border in time. He could only hope that the hermits got there safely, but Xisuma had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy.

The flames spread faster than expected, small patches of dark smoke tearing through the treetops as they floated up to the sky. Patches of fire appeared out of nowhere, beginning to burn the world into nothing but a wasteland of ash. Even with his helmet on, Xisuma could feel the smoke burning his eyes, which forced tears to roll down his cheeks.

He had failed his one job. Xisuma swore to protect the server, he swore to protect the people he called family, but it was like it was all being torn away from him. Hermits could die, they could turn into brainwashed servants to that watcher, and instead of helping, Xisuma was running.

What choice did he have? Xisuma had no admin abilities, not while the watcher was still on the server. He couldn't teleport all the hermits to safety, nor could he fight to try and protect them. It made him feel even more powerless and small than he already felt.

There were no options left, no plan that could possibly safe everyone. Xisuma knew this, he knew that nothing he did would matter in the end. He was spiraling, going down a rabbit hole of blame and worry, all while wanting to break down sobbing.

Xisuma had always had some form of control, some way he could fix everything and protect everyone, but he didn't have that anymore. He had no protection, no safety to promise. The guilt weigh heavy on the admin's mind, knowing for certain that everything had been his fault.

As he landed in the taiga forest, Xisuma ripped off his helmet, dropping it onto the grass as he tried to get a moment of fresh air. He was at the world border, and yet, no one else was here.

Sitting down on a fallen tree, Xisuma shoved his hands into his face, clutching his hair as he fought back tears. This couldn't be how it all ends, could it? The admin didn't know, he had never been this lost before.

The soft crunch of fallen leaves and twigs began to approach, someone walking through the forest, drawing closer to Xisuma. Did it even matter at this point? He couldn't do anything, he couldn't save anyone.

He didn't even look up from the ground as the sound of footsteps came closer, Xisuma tightening his hold on his hair. He was ready, prepared to either die, or be turned into a brainwashed slave.

Xisuma had seen the watcher take over a server in one day, he had seen firsthand how she controlled her followers. Running was useless, so was fighting. Not like the admin could do either, especially with the stab wound that rested in his shoulder.

Shutting his eyes as tight as he could, Xisuma braced himself as the footsteps came to a stop, right in front of the admin. Tears managed to force their way out of his shut eyes, dropping down his cheeks. This was really it. Hermitcraft was over.

"Don't tell me you've given up."

Instead of the expected silky, calm tone of the watcher, Xisuma was greeted by a familiar voice. His grip slightly loosened on his hair, the admin glancing up from the ground.

Doc stood in front of Xisuma, his arms crossed as he looked down on the panicked Brit. Joe stood behind him, the admin's helmet tucked under one arm.

"We came as soon as we saw your message," The southerner spoke up, using two fingers to push his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Doc and I were walking along the barrier to see if we could find anyone."

"T-the watcher probably got to them." Xisuma choked out weakly, barely an ounce of hope left in the admin's mind.

Doc and Joe shared a look of concern, the creeper hybrid opening his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the tree branches overhead to rustle and snap.

"Come on!" Doc hissed as he grabbed Xisuma by the wrist, the three hermits quickly taking shelter behind one of the spruce trees.

They watched in silence as a figure flew through the branches and leaves, crash-landing in the middle of the clearing of trees that the three hermits had been standing in moments prior. Panting, the figure stood up, wiping the dirt off their pants. They took off their elytra, which had been torn and mangled by the tree branches that they had flown through.

Grian picked a few twigs and leaves out of his hair, taking a moment to try and catch their breath. Out of the corner of his eye, the builder spotted movement hidden in the shadows of the forest, which caused him to glance towards the shadows.

"It's alright," one voice muttered to the other, which caused for Grian to stumble back in surprise. "He doesn't have one of those watcher masks on."

The owner of the voice stepped into light, Xisuma walking forward while clutching his bloody wound, Doc and Joe behind him. "Good to see there's more hermits okay.." The admin sighed, a bit light headed from the amount of blood he lost.

Grian shook his head. "N-no.. I was with Mumbo. We were about to f-fly to the world border, b-but this lady came out of nowhere! An-and then this mask appeared on M-Mumbo's face, and he tri-tried to put one on m-me, and—"

"Woah, woah. Slow down." Doc urged the strawberry blonde, who was physically shaking as he rushed to explain the events of what had happened. "What's this about a mask appearing on Mumbo's face?"

"I-I don't know. That woman just raised her staff, and in a flash of light, it just...appeared."

Joe glanced to Xisuma, who was standing in the shadows of the overhead trees, the southerner frowning as he noticed the guilt in the admin's eyes. "Alright, 'Suma. I think we deserve an explanation for what's going on."

Xisuma avoided meeting the southerner's eyes, glancing towards the clearing in the trees. It had taken most of the day to fly to the world border, the sun was beginning to set, the golden color halfway overtaken by a dull silver. Swallowing a lump in his through, the admin nodded.

"O-okay," he mumbled, fiddling with his thumbs as he walked back over to the fallen tree, taking a seat on the log. "it's.... it's a lot. I don't think I can. It's still so much to process.."

Doc gave a simple nod. "Alright, not now. But once you're ready, you're going to tell us everything."

"So, what do we do now?" Grian asked.

"We wait for the others to show up." Xisuma responded, his stare focused on the ground.

While the three other hermits found a place to sit down and relax, Xisuma turned back to his thoughts. Bdubs and Ex were already taken over by the silver sun, and now Mumbo?

The admin could help but feel the guilt burn his heart, knowing that the redstoner wouldn't be the last hermit brought under the power of the silver sun. Xisuma knew that his friends, his family was getting torn apart.

And he couldn't do anything about it.

☼

Xisuma couldn't sleep, no, his guilt and fear kept him awake throughout the whole night.

He was waiting, knowing that it wouldn't be long until the watcher finds the camp that the small group of hermits had set up. And he knew that it would all be his fault.

His helmet sat on the log next to him, letting the admin smell the smoke, which only seemed to grow stronger throughout the night. Hermitcraft was dying, the world was, at least. Everything that had been build was being torn down by the silver fires, no way of stopping the rampaging flames.

He stood up, walking past the sleeping hermits, Xisuma wandering into the forest as he tried to clear his head. No other hermits had shown up yet, did that mean that everyone had been caught?

Lost in thought, Xisuma continued to wander and think. Blame and guilt was the main thing stuck on his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about how all this was his fault.

Just as he was about to turn back, not wanting to wander too far away from camp, Xisuma froze at the sound of fast-paced footsteps, like someone was running.

He glanced around at the trees, looking deeper into the forest to try and spot where the footsteps were coming from. As he turned to warn the rest of camp, a figure ran out of the forest, managing to slam into Xisuma's back.

The admin turned around, Stress on the ground, rubbing the side of her head. "Hey, are you alright?" Xisuma asked, offering his hand to the brunette.

She silently shook her head, taking Xisuma's hand to get to her feet. Stress pulled the admin behind one of the spruce trees, holding her breath to stay as quiet as possible. Xisuma was about to ask what she was doing, when another set of footsteps startled the admin.

"Oh, Stress~" Iskall's voice called in a sing-song tone, the Swede laughing a bit as they searched for the brunette.

"Where did you run off to this time? One of us will find you eventually, so you might as well come out now. I'm not going to hurt you, all I want to do is help."

Fireworks shot off, both Stress and Xisuma keeping quiet as someone landed nearby. "Did you spot anyone?" The Swede asked whoever had landed.

"I can't see much through the trees, so it'd be more effective to search on foot." Tango's voice spoke up, fueling Xisuma's fear that the hermits had been caught.

"Come on, let's head to the corner of the world borders. Maybe we'll spot someone on the way over there."

"Sounds good." Tango said, fireworks echoing through the forest as the two flew off. Stress and Xisuma stayed hidden, waiting in silence until they were sure that the two were actually gone.

"Come on," The admin said with a quiet voice, "we have a camp set up. We need to hurry to the others and warn them."

"I'm so glad I found you. I thought that you got caught like the others." Stress muttered, the two walking through the forest, trying to stay quiet as to not alert any other brainwashed hermits that were lurking.

"What happened? You were supposed to fly to the world border the second you spawned in the overworld."

"Well...I was about to.. but... Iskall's base was on fire. And it wasn't normal fire, it was this weird silver color! I ran in to try and help, but they were wearing this mask over their eyes.. And then they tried to put one on me too! I tried to hide, but Iskall and a few other hermits were chasing after me. T-they're acting weird, X! Iskall wouldn't do this, they wouldn't try to hunt me down!"

"I know. No one who wears that mask is themself. It...changes a person..." he mumbled, glanced to the ground. Xisuma cleared his throat, fighting back his own guilt as he looked back to Stress.

"How many hermits have you seen wearing those masks?"

"A lot. Almost too many to count."

"Alright, we need to hurry and find some place to hide, before they come back and spot us." Xisuma said while walking into the makeshift camp, Joe, Doc, and Grian all awake. They were quietly chatting with one another, before their attention was pulled to the admin and brunette.

"We heard firework rockets, is everything okay?" Doc asked, while Xisuma hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"N-no. Most of the hermits have those masks over their eyes, it's controlling them."

"So how many of us are left?" Grian asked, worry in his eyes as he spoke.

"I'm...not sure. We could be the last few.."

"Well, what do we do now? What's our plan, X?" Joe questioned, while the admin struggled to stutter out a response. He didn't know. It was only a few hours ago when he had given up completely, and Xisuma still didn't have much hope in their survival.

"I—"

Firework rockets shot off in the distance, causing for the five hermits to quickly shut up. "It's Iskall and Tango," Stress quietly hissed to the admin. "we need to get out of here before they spot us!"

Xisuma nodded, motioning for the group to follow him deeper into the forest. They ran through the woods, the smell of smoke growing stronger as the silver fires continued to spread through the world.

There was a glowing light up ahead, Xisuma expecting it to be another fire, although it seemed to be a village. "Come on, into the blacksmith!" The admin whispered to the group, running up to the door.

As he turned the knob, pushing open the door, an iron sword swung at Xisuma. It left a large scratch on his bloodstained armor, the admin stumbling backwards in shock.

"Wait! Wels! They aren't wearing those freaky masks!"

Zedaph ran into view, while Wels lowered his blade. The knight tucked his weapon away, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. I thought Zed and I were the only ones left."

"Hurry, get inside before someone sees you." Zedaph invited the group, who quickly followed his instructions.

"Sit down on the ground, make sure you avoid the windows." Wels said as he sat down on the stone floor, Zedaph taking a seat next to the knight.

"We thought for sure that everyone had been captured. I mean, we came to the boarder, but we couldn't find you anywhere." Zed mentioned, while Wels nodded his head in agreement. "Then Jevin and Impulse started chasing us through the forest, so we hid here."

"Well, at least you're safe." The admin said with a sigh, leaning back against the wall as he ran a hand through his knotted hair. It felt a bit weird to be without his helmet, Xisuma nervously fidgeting with a strand of his hair.

His attention was suddenly drawn to Wels' sword, which was sitting on the ground next to the knight. Xisuma was curious about it, as it was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.

The admin slowly stood up, walking towards the window, despite the warning of Zedaph and Wels. Outside, a large silver flame had began burning a few of the village houses, a figure stepping through the fire.

Gripping her staff, the watcher stepped through the flames, with a few players following close behind. Mumbo, Taurtis, Bdubs, and—

"Ex." Xisuma muttered breathlessly, his heart aching as he saw his brainwashed brother. It was all his fault that his brother was now in the clutches of the watcher, and Xisuma didn't know how to save him.

Running to the door, the admin was stopped by Doc. "Don't you dare," he growled. "we can't help him until we have a plan. You can't throw yourself out there and expect to be okay."

"I-I just want to listen into their conversation."

He pushed past the creeper hybrid, quietly opening the door as he crept out of the house. Xisuma moved a bit closer to the group, more of the watcher's brainwashed players beginning to gather in the village.

"It's a shame that you couldn't save the rest of your friends." Her distance voice said coldly.

"We should get going. We'll leave the other hermits here, let them burn in the flames that will destroy the rest of the world. It's a shame, really. I wish I could have saved Xisuma along with you, Xanthus."

'Xanthus..?' Xisuma thought, slightly confused. 'Is she talking about Ex?'

The name sounded familiar, but his brother's name had been Ex, his whole life. Never once had he been called Xanthus, and yet the name rung in Xisuma's mind, like he had heard it before.

'Focus, X.' The admin though as he peered around the corner of the building, swallowing a lump in his throat as he spotted the large group. The rest of the hermits all stood obligingly, wearing masks as they waited for instructions from the watcher. There was really no one else left.

"W-wait." Ex's voice spoke up, the watcher turning her attention towards the admin's brother.

"Xisuma is persistent. He'd never leave someone behind. Why not let him live? He'll come to you, and the rest of the hermits will tag along with him. Knowing my brother, he'd do anything to rescue his server."

Thinking for a moment, the watcher nodded her head. "Alright, Xanthus. I'll allow it." She said, snapping her fingers together. The flames that had been burning the village turned to nothing but ash, though the smell of smoke lingered in the air.

"Let's hurry back home. You have a lot of work to do, hermits." She said, stepping back into the flaming portal, disappearing into the fire.

One by one the rest of the hermits and evolutionists followed her into the fire, disappearing through the portal. Ex was last, a bit hesitant as he looked back through the village. The admin stepped out of hiding, he and his brother locking eyes.

Xisuma wanted to run over and hold his brother in a tight hug, but Ex turned his back, walking towards the fire.

"EX! WAIT!" He called, the admin running after his twin.

Ex took one last look over his shoulder before stepping through the fire, the flames turning into a pile of ash as he disappeared.