He still crouched there for a few moments, letting the silence reign as he let his thoughts go on. His eyes wandered to the sword, remembering the power that it held, the pain it had caused- he did not wish for it to fall in the hands of some unknown foe one day, and knew it must be destroyed.

Without another thought, he grasped the sword and stood. Just being near it made him feel weak- but that didn't stop him from sending a shock of white lightning through it, causing it to shatter into a thousand pieces and fall to the ground, useless. Satisfied, Herobrine cast a final gaze at the destroyed sword and mangled corpse of Steve.

No doubt Predator and the others are worried, he thought to himself, I shouldn't have left them, but this needed to be done. I can only hope that Yazmyne is in a better place now.

Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Herobrine began walking the long way home. Despite the knowledge that his dear love was avenged, sorrow still lay heavy in his heart.

"Herobrine...."

At once, he was alert again. His eyes scanned the golden-lighted forest, searching for the source of the choruslike voice.

"She is not lost, white-eyed one."

It was the hooded ones, speaking in unison just as they had when he had visited the Druid's Clearing- the four strange figures made themselves known to him, materializing close by.
"What do you mean?" he asked earnestly, "Is...is she...alive?"
A spark lit in his heart where the sorrow lay- a moment of hope.

"Go to her, Herobrine. She waits for her true love, just as you have waited for the light within the dark."

"YAZMYNE!"

Herobrine tore past the trees, passing the figures, running with all the speed he could possibly move his wearied legs. It was not for fear, not for chasing an adversary, no....it was for hope, for the belief that life wasn't truly over.

For love.

"I'm coming, my love! I'm coming!!"

Never had he ever run so fast- the wind whipped past him, as he dodged leaves and avoided trees, closing the gap between himself and the clearing he had set Yazmyne's memorial in, within mere minutes.

He reached the small ruin, and where had once lain a withered rose encased in crystal, lay the shining broken fragments of the cube, and an orb of blue and white energy glowing from the center of the pedestal. Herobrine stopped close by, watching in awe as the beautiful flowered vines retracted from the top of the small ruins and opened doorways between each of the four pillars, allowing the orb of energy to project itself on the soft, grassy forest floor outside the structure.

The projected energy streamed from the rose in an incredible display of light, the blue, silver, and gold waves flowing and dancing all around the clearing and Herobrine in an even more beautiful pattern, then when Yazmyne had seemingly disappeared into bits- the energy brought up a gentle breeze and then focused itself in one particular spot, beginning to form a shape on the ground.

Herobrine watched, hardly daring to breathe- he watched as a bodily form took place where the energy was pouring, slowly becoming more and more visible; finally, it absorbed the last few sparkles, and assumed a fully human shape.

The eyes began to flutter open.

"H...Herobrine..?"

"Yazmyne..."

He uttered it as if sighing, his heart filling with a joy that overcame every bit of grief he had undergone- every moment of his life that had gone wrong was suddenly worth it, suddenly didn't matter. By some wonderful and mysterious turn of events, his greatest friend, his one true love, his Queen....was back.

Herobrine rushed to her, gently helping her sit up.

"Feels good to hear your heartbeat again," she sighed, leaning against his chest.

"My love, please....please let this be true," Herobrine spoke tearfully, holding her feminine frame as closely as he possibly could, "Please truly be alive again, and not some angel sent to give a final goodbye....please, don't ever make me have to let you go again..."

"Oh Hero....you know neither of us are good at goodbyes. Figured we'd skip the whole thing, and I'll just stay here," she smiled wittily, gazing up at him. As her beautiful white eyes stared up into his own, Herobrine knew deep in his heart, that neither of them would ever be apart, ever again.

"My Queen....I love you more than tongue can tell," he cried, "You are my jewel, my rose, my precious treasure...and no one will ever take you away from me again!"

"Believe me, I'm not going anywhere," she smiled again, her own joy spreading radiantly across her face, "Not even death can keep me from you, my love!"

Herobrine couldn't stand it any longer. The two rose to their feet and kissed tenderly, husband and wife reunited after what had once seemed to be a final parting.

Indeed, just as Notch had explained to Steve about the ultimate sword, Yazmyne's code particles were supposed to have been stored in the crystal sphere at the hilt of the blade; but when Steve had stabbed her, he had seen Herobrine approaching and pulled it out far too early for the codes to flow into the sword and be stored forever. Thus, her energy became attracted to the closest other powerful item in the environment- the withered rose, which she had kept in her inner jacket pocket to remind her of the eternal love that she and Herobrine shared.

Had it not been for Herobrine giving her that symbol of love before the battle, it might not have been such a desireable outcome- and when Herobrine had shattered the infamous sword, the code-binding energies, those of which had disentegrated her in the first place, were released. Thus, the rose had expelled its own containment of her, the forces combining, to allow the release of her form once again into the world.

The two lovers retracted, gazing wondrously into each other's eyes.

"No doubt the others are waiting, worried sick," Herobrine spoke, so happy to be with her again, "We should head back home, and prepare a glorious celebration. Not only of your return, but of the new kingdom that we have acquired!"

"Kingdom? Hero...what about..."

"Notch is dead. Desmond is dead. And so is Steve," he smiled, "Our enemies are no longer, and we can rule Minecraftia by each other's sides for the rest of our many, many days, with no more sorrow from those who have tormented us!"

"Sounds like a glorious new life I've come back to," Yazmyne smiled as well, taking his hand, "And there's no one else I would rather live it with, than you..."

Herobrine simply beamed.

"Our work here is done," came a quiet, choruslike whisper from the forest, unheard by either of the joyous royals.

"Minecraftia has needed a change...new rulers, better fit to protect and maintain this world. So begins a new age...until this world passes, and a new Realm makes itself known. And then, even then....the two digital immortals will remain throughout every world that exists, until the End of All. "

With this strange declaration, the figures dematerialized once more, unseen by Herobrine and Yazmyne.

The two blissful lovers smiled and laughed as they took their time engulfed in one another's company, knowing that they now had a true home to return to- not one divided, or seemingly empty, or alone...but rather, a far greater and larger home than they had ever known before, and a sparkling future on their horizon.

As some have read in books, and some dream of, so they truly would live- just them, and those that they loved, in their brand new world forever on...

Happily ever after.

...{Not The End}...