Keralis pressed his fingers to Xisuma's neck, relieved to find a pulse. He had never seen his friend like this before, his expression so full of pain, so far away. It worried Keralis, and he couldn't help but wonder if every breath he saw drawn, every steady heartbeat he felt under his fingers would be the last.

Would Xisuma ever wake up? Keralis had only seen one of Xisuma's training sessions before, when the admin deliberately immersed himself into the code to test his strength and will, but then he hadn't been in pain, and he had woken up only a couple of minutes later. Speaking of minutes...

"How long have we been here?" Keralis asked no one in particular.

Mumbo checked his watch. "Seventeen minutes and twenty four seconds. Oh, now twenty five. Twenty six. Twenty sev-"

Grian nudged him to stop him from counting, them tilted his head at Keralis. "You've seen him like this before, right? I mean Xisuma, not Mumbo."

"Well... yes, but only once. And not this long." Keralis' voice shook, fearful for his friend.

Ren placed a comforting hand on Keralis' shoulder. "He'll be ok. It's Xisuma we're talking about."

Keralis barely managed to nod.

For all the times his friend had been there for him, he couldn't do anything in return.

Suddenly, an odd ripple of light and energy pulsed through the air, and the hermits all lifted their heads, expressions ranging from fear to curiosity.

The glitchy sand block flickered into being again, this time glowing. Bright beams of white, magical misty light danced around the block, and Doc, who was nearest to it, jumped away, startled.

None of the currently awake hermits were admins, yet the power that surged into their world was so brutally effective, so intense, they could all feel it.

"Arm yourselves!" False ordered, brandishing her sword, grim determination carved across her face.

The hermits scrambled to pull out their weapons, Keralis and Ren maneuvering themselves in front of Xisuma. Fear pulsed through the air. None of them knew what to expect, but surely is was nothing good.

Grian unsheathed his blade, standing next to Mumbo, who held his own sword shakily.

Zedaph, Impulse and Tango stood side by side, sheids out, swords drawn.

Stress handed Cleo a few colourful splash potions, which the latter took gratefully. Keralis braced his shield in front of his unconscious friend, a loaded crossbow in his hand. Ren stood with a bow, an arrow notched, aiming at the now shaking, shuddering block.

Shafts of light streamed from its edges as cracks appeared across its surface. Admin energy wreathed and twisted around it, pulsing, gathering into a dense silvery cloud.

And then the world exploded.

Everyone was blasted back, brilliant light filling their vision. Keralis blinked, not hurt from being thrown back a couple blocks as his shield had taken the brunt of the attack. He could hear the yells of the other hermits, which scared him briefly, then relieved him because if they were screaming, it meant they weren't dead.

He glanced up frantically, dimly able to make out the shape of a couple unfamiliar players standing in the middle of the pool of admin power, their silhouettes outlined in silver light.

He could hear Doc scrambling to his feet beside him, and the scuffling of the other hermits. Concern suddenly spiked through him as he realized he didn't see Xisuma.

"Xisuma?" He called out, aware of the blurry players coming towards him. There was a moment of silence and dread gathered in Keralis' chest.

And then, came the hazy but distinct reply. "Keralis?"

Keralis wanted to weep with relief, but he made himself stand, facing the unclear players as they came even nearer.

Suddenly, the new players stepped out of the mist and Keralis felt like ice cold fingers were closing around his throat. Tightening slowly.

There were two young boys, holding each other's hand, the slightly shorter one grasping a tiny bee charm in his fist. A man with messy brown hair and sharp eyes stood protectively in front of a young lady, her eyes wide with fear. There was another man at the very back of the group with a black and red cloak draped over most of his body, a diamond sword strapped to his back, holding the unconscious figure of another player, one wearing a green hoodie and a white porcelain mask. He was flanked by two more men, one in a blue shirt with thick-rimmed white sunglasses, and the other with a casual white shirt and dark hair and eyes.

But at the very front of the group, stood a man with pink hair and a long, red cloak, the colour of fresh blood. He had a definite fighting stance, his blue-grey eyes calculating and wary. The way he stared at Keralis reminded him of the amber eyes of a hawk. And in front of him, held in the man's left arm by having it pinned across his chest with the edge of the man's gleaming diamond blade to his throat, was Xisuma.

The icy fingers around Keralis' neck seemed to squeeze and he suddenly found it very difficult to breathe.

Xisuma glanced at Keralis, his gaze surprising calm for someone being held hostage.

"Let Xisuma go!" Doc demanded, snapping Keralis out of his trance.

Ren and False had also gotten up and positioned themselves around the newcomers, their eyes radiating hostility. Keralis could see Stress and Cleo force-feeding Mumbo a potion, Grian watching anxiously in the background. BdoubleO was helping Scar up, eyeing the intruders warily. They were in no state to fight, and they all knew it, yet Keralis couldn't bear the thought of simply giving up Xisuma. He met the gaze of the man who was holding his friend hostage.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Keralis questioned, hating the tremble in his voice.

The man met Keralis' eyes coldly, and Keralis had no doubt that he could beat any of the hermits easily in a fight. Maybe even all of them at once.

The man smiled humourlessly, casually adjusting his grip on his sword, somehow managing not to slit Xisuma's throat.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Technoblade, but you can call me Techno. Oh, and I wouldn't move it I were you."