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Rae took a deep breath and stepped over the edge of the frame. The first thing he noticed was the cold, where his foot hit the portal it was like liquid ice running through his veins. It was unexpected, especially at first as it engulfed his body but it wasn’t unpleasant. In contrast it was almost calming the sheer, cool adrenaline it sent coursing through him. Next he noticed the sensation of being warped through space and time. Using a nether portal felt strange but it was nothing compared to this. It was like something had grabbed the core of his very being and was pulling him backwards. His stomach lurched and he squeezed his mouth shut, hoping not to barf as the tugging feeling released him and he tumbled through the void of portal. Up and down no longer had any semblance of meaning but he was pretty sure he did something similar to a summersault mid air. Finally he was dropped out of the nothingness onto an obsidian platform. Knees buckled beneath him as if he had dropped from a far height and he collapsed to his shins and arms. His elbows locked up and his hands twitched, muscle spasms racked his body from the experience he’d just been through.
The compulsive movements seized and he was able to sit up after a moment only to be knocked back down by a searing pain across his face. It was like his skin was on fire. It originated from his eye of ender and spread outward to the blackened skin from it but didn’t stop there, it kept on, the burning eating away the non-pigmented skin. He caught his reflection on the shiny surface of his sword that he had let go of in his pain. His vision locked and he watched in horror as the black spread across his face like a corrosive acid spill. A scream tore itself from his lungs, straining his vocal cords as he cried out in pain. He could hear the thud and grunts of more people joining him and their worried words directed at his collapsed form.
Sugary watermelon scent filled his lungs as something splashed against his back and soaked through his cloak. The pain dulled slightly but he still couldn’t force himself to get up. A scream of 'dragon' should have drawn his attention more but he was still too focused on the pain in his head. On the good note the healing potion seemed to stop the spreading, at least from the feeling of it. He glanced back at his reflection in the sword and a gasp stole his breath again. He finally understood how his eye of ender could look creepy to others. His face was mutated, ender skin spread across more than half of it and travelling down his neck as well. It still hurt like hell as well. He touched his hand lightly to the flesh but flinched away from the additional pain.
A hand gently rested on his shoulder in an awkward gesture of support. Right people or at least a person was still waiting for him. He hid his face in his shoulder and behind his hands as he made himself stand. He peered between his fingers to see Centross looking awfully concerned and he quickly averted his gaze hoping the other hadn’t seen the mess he’d become. The snap of bow strings and sword clangs drew his attention as well and he looked up just in time to see a freaking dragon get sliced down by the blades of his friends who let out a relieved cheer. Everyone began searching for Athena but he stayed frozen, pain still rendering him immobile. Gradually people returned to his spot and freaked out at the sight of him, he didn’t blame them. People offered up potions and gapples but he could tell it wasn’t a wound that could be healed so simply.
“We found Athena!” Someone shouted and he joined the masses in rushing the building hosting the child and another. He started to go up the stairs but realized how terrifying he looked. He paused and waited at the bottom. He didn’t want to scare Athena or the stranger. Centross noticed him at the bottom though and promptly waved him up getting the others' attention until he couldn’t wait at the bottom without causing an even bigger scene and right now was not about him so gradually he ascended the short staircase. Athena promptly freaked out as expected along with everyone else who had yet to see the newly corrupted portion.
As the others discussed who’d stay behind he stayed silent. He wanted to be useful, volunteer himself so the families and friends of the server might stay together but his very limited basic self preservation skills refused. He clearly seemed allergic to the end, he hadn’t even thought it was possible to be allergic to a dimension and yet here he was clearly reacting badly to the place he had tried for so long to find. No he couldn’t stay here he decided as he chugged another healing potion as the pain began to crawl across his skin again. There were so many things he would like to study here but his body begged to return to the overworld. The decision made and people switching in, he began to escort people out; he wasn’t leaving behind any more people than necessary. Once everyone who wasn’t Sherbert, Easton and Centross were through the portal he stepped in, allowing the sweet relief of the overworld to rush over him.
