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[quote name=sc1020] Hello, writers! This story is part of Minefic: Legacy. This is a story list where you can apply your stories so everyone can see it even better! Simply click the link and fill out an application and see how helpful it is yourself!

Until then, happy writing!

[spoiler]

Update 5/1/15: Hello people of the Literature forums! It's been a while, hasn't it. Again. Sorry it's been two years and I've been neglecting this story for a while. My life has been incredibly busy and I needed to get focused on somethings, but now that I'm back... we can finally begin anew. I may also be editing the characters, kind of like a visual or rework in games. So David and Destiny will be getting the most attention while I also redo some of the other characters. This will be a gradual thing and I don't think any new chapters will be out for a bit, but I will do my best! Anyways, thanks for reading this random person. You're awesome.
-Assassino

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]

This story will also be participating in the Convergence. Go check them out!

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Note from the Author]NOTE: Some of the items and mechanics used or implemented in the story, "The Eternal Mine," are not in the actual video game or are included in other popular game titles. This story is also a work in progress and will not be complete indefinitely. But, monthly or occasional updates will be made through out the development of the story. Please provide feedback for anything I can improve on.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The Codex][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 1 Alive and Lost]Chapter 1: Alive and Lost
I open my eyes. Waking up to the sight of the sparkling water reflecting the sunlight and the soft sand that I have awoken on. The bright sun shining in my eyes as I get up. I stood there. Wondering, where am I? Come to think of it, who am I? I tried to remember anything about this place.

Out of curiosity, I walk over to the water and see myself. Brown medium sized hair that looks like an utter mess. Amber eyes that appeared orange with the light that is being reflected by the water. Normal, light brown skin. A plain, white t-shirt and tattered, blue jeans I see myself wearing. At least I seem human.

David.

That name just popped in my head. Is that my name? I might as well go with it, it’s all I have at the moment. I looked around, seeing in front of me, the vast ocean that stretches for miles it seems, and behind me, the forest with monumental trees that almost hide the mountains behind it. Where am I? There doesn't seem to be any sight of civilization anywhere. I was confused. How will I survive? Where will I go?

Well first, I need to make myself a home or something, I thought to myself. No use if I’m dead the first few days.

I decided to venture into the forest to, hopefully, find shelter or supplies. I was surprisingly taking this all calmly. Why wasn’t I panicking? Why wasn’t I flailing around, hoping someone might notice me? Have I been in this situation before? I should ponder this later.

As I trotted though the forest, the trees seemed to go from small shrubs of leaf and bark to towering trees that could be used for shade from rain. I took another look around and there nothing for me to use.

“Damn it!” I shouted to the world.

I punched a nearby tree out of frustration. The thud echoed off the bark from the impact.

Why did I get frustrated so quickly? Is this who I was before? A very easily frustrated and confused boy? These questioned boggled my mind.

I looked at the tree and saw a crack in the bark. Come to think of it, my hand doesn't hurt from the punch. Either I have really durable hands or something's wrong with the wood. I started continuously punching the wood. The cracks in the wood started to grow to bigger cracks.

Once the wood broke, a smaller version of the wood fell down, as if that same fragment was shrunken into a pebble sized version of itself. It was floating and revolving at the same time, inches off the ground. What would I need this for? Why is it doing that?

I walked near it and it flew right into my pocket. I reached into my pocket and took out the wood. I stared at it while it was on my palm. Maybe I could... try and do something with it?

At the thought of that, the wood broke into four individual wooden… planks, I think? Whoa. Then I put the wooden planks in my pocket and looked at my palm. It was like a 2x2 square was tattooed onto my palm and it made stuff separate. I don't remember having this; then again I don't remember a lot of things at the moment. If it can separate, maybe it can create stuff too. I grabbed the 4 wooden planks and put them in each slot on the 2x2 square.

Almost instantly, a miniature table that had attached all sorts of tools popped out as the output. This was also in the grasp of my palm. On top, the table had a 3x3 square like the one on my palm, only bigger. On its sides were a saw and other sets of tools that were probably used for making things. This must be some kind of… crafting table and a really small one at that. I was holding it between my thumb and finger a marble.

I threw it to the ground and it grew in size rapidly, morphing almost. It was still a crafting table but now bigger than it was before. But now the question is what can I do with this?

First of, I'm going to need more wood. Apparently, punching trees is very effective, so I should keep doing that. I punched down two trees in about three minute. They were only small trees but I got ten logs out of it. It's very strange that things here don't obey gravity. But I won't question it more, too many questions in my mind at the moment.

So, what can I do with ten logs? I first made half of the logs into planks, giving me forty wooden planks. I'm going to need some tools but for that I'll need handles for the tools. I put three wooden planks in a diagonal line then I waited. No results. Then I put the same three wooden planks in a straight line then waited. Nothing. What the hell am I suppose to do!?

I slammed the crafting table and one plank fell to the ground. I picked it up and looked at the crafting table curiously. The two wooden planks left on the table made four sticks. I have an idea, it struck me.

I put a stick in the middle of the bottom and middle rows along with wooden planks in the middle right, top left and top middle. I had no idea what I was really doing, but I made a weak looking, wooden axe. It was slightly easier to chop down trees now. I cut down four trees in two minutes, and they were the medium sized trees. Finally, some progress.

Right when I cut down the last trees, I looked up and saw the sunset. Damn it, I lost track of time!

With haste, I hit the crafting bench with my axe a few times. When it turned back to its small, revolving form, I picked it up and ran deeper into the forest, desperately trying to find some sort shelter. As it got dark, I hear very strange noises like growls, bones, and hissing. It was so close; almost it was right behind me. I started to panic, but I didn't dare look back.

Just as I got tired, I found a cave where I could find refuge in. I quickly dashed over to it. Just as I enter, I heard a huge rumbling and the ground started to shake. I threw my axe in panic and the entrance caved in.

The rumbling stopped and the entrance was blocked. I sighed. Great, now I'm lost and trapped.

I looked to my left and saw a light. Fire. But how did it get here? I got closer to it and noticed that the fire was my axe, which is now a torch. So, how did my axe caught fire? I looked behind it and saw some black stone in the wall. Coal ore. My axe must have hit the coal when I threw it then it caught on fire. Well, at least I now have light.

But that wasn't the last of my troubles, not even close. I heard the echo of a scream. And it was a girl's scream. I instantly ran deeper into the cave to find where the scream came from.[/spoiler]

[spoiler='Ch. 2 I'm Not Alone']Chapter 2: I'm Not Alone
As I went deeper into the cave, I passed by many ores and heard some strange noises, but I didn't care. I had one mission at the moment. Why was I so responsive to the scream anyways? Was I a heroic type of person before? I don't know. I'll have to ask myself this again later.

What will I find when I reach the source of the scream? I don't know. I kept going deeper into the tunnels and it seemed like an eternity. Where the hell was I going?

I finally reach the source. The cave had a low ceiling and some parts of the walls were filled with dirt, gravel, and different kinds of ores. There was a pool of boiling, hot lava to the left, but that wasn't important. I stared at the crowd of guys around someone. Their clothes were torn and their skin reeked of rotten food. I saw a part of one of the guy’s faces and saw how disoriented and decimated his face was. I froze in the sudden realization that they were some kind of undead, but it washed away when I noticed that they were surrounding a girl.

This girl was absolutely beautiful. Light brown skin and long, almost perfect brown hair that glistened in the light of the lava. She was wearing a blue and white striped shirt with jeans that were cropped. She was holding a stick menacingly at the attackers as she was in panic. She looked like she was too terrified to attack. I then rushed the group of guys.

It was strange. I felt so in love with this girl yet I've never seen her in my life. What was even more strange was the abominations that stood before me.

Apparently, I arrived just in time since they barely started to approach her at a dangerously close distance. I ran to one of them and swung my flaming torch at him so hard, he fell to the floor with a scorched, still-burning face. After that, he disappeared in a white puff of smoke, as if he never existed. I tilted my head in curiosity. How is that even possible?

While I was distracted, the second guy tried to literally eat my face out by violently grabbing my face. His head was inches away from mine, but I managed to grab his hands and push him back. He fell to the ground and I pounced on his chest to hold him down. Then I raised my flaming, wooden axe high and landed a devastating blow on his face. Afterwards, the abomination disappeared in a puff of smoke like the others. Wait, what happened to the other one?

I stood up feeling like I forgot like I seriously forgot something. I looked over to the girl who was now pointing here stick at something else. I was confused for a second then the adrenaline kicked in when I heard the horrifying groan. I grabbed the arms of the zombie who tried to sneak attack me and threw him over my head then to the ground. I didn't use my axe this time so I just curve stomped his head and it damaged it slightly. It was more disoriented than dead. I stomped his face again and blood started to spill from an opening in his skull. The blood was a darker red color and his face was completely destroyed like he just got run over by… something. I stomped one more time and his head exploded. I shuddered at the sight. Disgusting. I backed away from the body and, poof, it was gone.

I looked over to the girl who was still pointing “the stick of doom,” but this time at me.
"Are you ok?" I asked.

I was surprised at my own voice. It was so commanding, so controlled. I haven't heard my voice at all since I got here.

She was still pointing the stick at me, but her eyes were close. I look over to my hand. Right, the axe. I dropped the axe right next to me and said, "I'm friendly, I don’t want to hurt you."

She opens one eye, as if unsure that I'm friend or foe. I offer my hand to her to help her up. She hesitates to accepting my offer.

"What's your name?" I ask.
"D...Destiny."

Destiny... Why was I expecting a different name?

[spoiler=Ch. 3 The Villain and the Plot]Chapter 3:The Villain and the Plot
(Third-Person Ommi-View)
The room was the size of a conference room, which it was. A boy with a dark, hooded cloak (Pretty cliché isn't it?) stood looking at the ender pearl that showed an image. The image was a clear picture of David and Destiny in the cave where she got attacked. Next to the cloaked boy were two girls in different clothes.

The one to the left was very slender and fit, she had an athletic build. She also had short, brown hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin. She was wearing a black and grey tunic and same kind of greaves and leggings, kind of like something a dark warrior would wear. She was wearing the little hat too, but I digress. A long bow was strapped around her torso along with a quiver full of arrows. The bow wasn't her only weapon. On her belt, she had a scabbard along with a iron broadsword attached to her belt.

The girl to the right was much older than the girl to the left, kind of the age to be a senior in high school. She was also athletic but taller than her counterpart. She had black hair that was tied into a ponytail. She was wear a red coat uniform and had a musket strapped to her back. She also wore a red hat, similar to a captain's hat. On her waist, she had an ammo pouch that held all her cartilages and gunpowder for the musket. That wasn't the only weapon she could use to defend herself. She also had a dagger that she could use. But back to the important stuff.

The boy in the cloak looked surprised and angry at the same time. He was so close to his prize and he lost it to a boy who doesn't even remember who he is. He was furious.

In his rage, he let out a roar and threw the ender pearl at the wall.

"What's wrong?" The girl to the left said.
"What's wrong?! I just lost her to a boy who doesn't even remember himself!" He screamed in rage.

The girl to the right stepped quickly stepped forward and said, "It was just a few zombies, they were expected to capture not kill," said the girl to the right.

The boy looked at the girl with his pupiless eyes, filled with rage and frustration. The girl showed no emotion at all. I've been through enough, she thought. And she has, after the Excalibur War.

"Very well, but if that boy is going to be a threat, we're going to have to... eliminate him."
"How do you intend to do that?" the girl to the left said.

The boy slowly turned to the girl. With his hands behind his back, he walked towards her and said, "I have an entire army at my command. I'll think of something Isabelle."

Isabelle still never got use to how his attitude could change so quickly. It was unnatural, and he was unnatural if you know his past. What also bothered Isabelle was his voice. He appeared as a maybe sixteen year old boy and yet he has the voice of a strong, masculine adult. It seemed very strange at times.

"Noemi, ready a squad of mobs to kill the boy and capture the girl." the boy commanded.
"Right away Martin." Noemi responded.
"Isabelle, I want you to assist the squad in any way possible."

Isabelle nodded. Martin had a plan brewing and it wasn't going to turn in favor of David. David had something he wanted and that was Destiny.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 4 Survival Instincts]Chapter 4: Survival Instincts
(First-Person David View)
I eventually got Destiny on her feet. She looked even more beautiful up close. Long, brown hair that almost fell completely to her waist. Big, blue eyes that reminded me of an anime character. But the thing that stood out the most was her necklace. It was a shard of something, a diamond possibly! It couldn't have been a diamond, the material was glowing gold.

"What?"
She caught me staring.
"Nothing..." I said softly, looking away. My cheeks felt hot.

I picked up my torch and started to go out the way I came in. She's also following me. I might as well start conversation.

"How did you end up down here?"
There was a short silence then she responded, "I don't know... I was at the beach then I somehow wandered off here."
"Don't you remember anything, like before that?"
Another short silence as if she's trying to put her response into words yet it's impossible.
"I heard a voice... Other than that, no."

A voice? I didn't hear any voice when I got here. At least I'm not alone with the not remembering anything.

As we slowing progressed up the cave system, I couldn't remember where I was going. I didn't recognize any of this. As long as we're going up, it'll be fine, I thought.

After a good walk of going up through a cave system, I finally saw daylight and we were outside. The strange part was, it was already daytime. I'd expected it to be nighttime still.

From the surprised look on Destiny's face, she was confused as well.

We climbed out of the hole and started to look around. Everything seemed like it did before. I didn't have any idea where to begin.

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.
"Find somewhere we can stay..."

I looked around our surroundings once more to see if we could find suitable shelter. Immediately, I saw a huge cliffside to our left that we could use as a vantage point. Destiny saw it too and started to head towards it without me.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

We had to get through another patch of trees to reach the cliff side. There were so many towering trees. It was as if they were multiplying like rabbits and crowding around us. Eventually, I got out of the forest and caught up with Destiny. Only to find out that she was almost half way there. She was gracefully jumping from rock to rock as if she'd done this before.

I sighed and started to climb. It wasn't that difficult if you don't look down. The difficult part was trying to keep up with Destiny. Jumping ledge after ledge isn't as easy as it sounds. Eventually I made it to the top, panting and exhausted.

I looked over at Destiny and it looks like she didn't even break a sweat.

"I must really be out of shape..." I managed to choke out.

She managed a smile which made me smile. She had such a beautiful smile.

I shook my head. Why am I falling for this girl so quickly? I barely even know her that well.

I sat down, depleted of energy while Destiny walked over to the cliff side. She stood there for a while, taking in the moment.

"You might want to see this..."
I finally stood up and joined her. If I was any weaker, I would have fallen off the cliff at the sight of the view.

The panoramic view of this world was amazing. In front of us were a huge plains field, filled with tall grass and a small assortment of trees. We found our first wildlife too. Pigs were gracefully roaming the savanna, along with chickens and cow that were eating the grass. Ahead of the plains was a jungle you couldn't miss. Sky piercing jungle trees stood like giants wrapped with long vines. Various bushes were scattered across the jungle floor that might have made the terrain almost impossible to navigate. Light brown plants were also growing off the tree trunks. I wonder what those things were. To our left was the forest we maneuvered through but to our right was something different. A huge desert, that made the savanna look like a patch of grass, was to our right. Cacti were all stationed across the blanket of sand like beacons. What really caught my eye was our first sight of some kind of civilization.

A village that was composed of various houses made of sandstone. Next to the village was a huge pyramid, made of sandstone with different types of carvings on it. I looked back at the village and saw something else. I can also see people walking through the village!

"It's beautiful..." She said.

It was beautiful, but I wanted to find shelter before it grows dark again.

"We might be able to get to the village down there. I think I see people down there too. All we need to do is get down there."
"We could come back the way we came up..."

I thought of the long climb I had to suffer. It might now be too bad going down but it didn't seem safe for me.

"I don't think I can stand another climb, even if it's going down." I explained, dropping myself to the ground and sitting.

Destiny then looked down on the cliff side. She started to grin. I also looked down. There was a huge lake right below the cliff, deep enough to dive in. The lake's water was clear enough to see the bottom so it seemed clean.

She's not thinking of-

At that thought, Destiny jumped off the cliff. I tried to call out her name but she already made it to the bottom. The water rippled at the impact of Destiny's dive. A few seconds later, she made her way out of the lake, soaked in water, she waved at me. How did she survive that?

"She is one hell of a girl..." I said as I jumped down to the lake.

While I was falling, I seemed to be falling faster at every second, with gravity pulling me down even harder that before.

Once I made impact, I was submerged underwater. I think some water went into my nose too. It felt horrible. I swam to the surface and took a deep breath. Destiny waved at me again, smiling. I smiled too. That was exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping for a fall. I looked up, the cliff was very high up. I would have never jumped if I knew how huge it was, looking at it now.

I swam over to shore and joined Destiny. She offered me her hand to pull me from the water and I grabbed her's.

"Your one reckless girl, you know that." I pointed out.

She laughed and then replied, "I know." She had such a cute laugh.

We walked over to the direction the village was in. The pyramid didn't look as huge as it did from the cliffside. Then again, the cliffside was as high up as I thought it was. We made it to the village and one of the villagers spotted us. The villager was kind of short and was wearing a brown and white cloak. His skin was brown and he had a huge nose. When I say huge, I mean like Squidward huge.

He walked over to us and said, "Ah! Young travelers! Welcome to Sandshard!"[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 5 The Village of Sandshard]Chapter 5: The Village of Sandshard
The house was fairly small but it was enough room to live. A small torch hung from above the door. The ceiling and floor were both made out of clean, quality wood. The walls were made of cobblestone and held one window to my left and two others to my right.

The house was designed to be in the shape of an L too. A wooden table and seats were placed next to one of the two windows. A crafting table and oven were placed in a specific place in the house, next to the wooden table, with stone flooring. Another squid ward villager was preparing food there. Two beds were in far middle of the house with a bookshelf at each side.

"Come! Sit!" the villager said as he took his seat at the wooden table.

Me and Destiny helped ourselves to a seat. I was exhausted and just slouched while Destiny sat like a normal person.

"So, what brings you to Sandshard?" the villager asked.
I was about to reply but instead Destiny said, "We were trying to find a place to stay and we saw this village from the cliff. We decided to see if we could stay here."
"Well you surely can stay! We don't get many visitors ever since the war ended. Gets kind of boring without visitors but we make the best of. I'm Janax by the way and my wife's Circia."

I was curious about this war he spoke of. Why would visitors stop coming if a war ended? To me, times of peace would mean more relaxing and visiting.

"Wait, what war?" I asked Janax.
"You mean you don't know? Where the hell have you guys been?"
I turned to Destiny. "That's kind of what we want to know." Destiny replied.

He sighed and then replied with, "The Excalibur War was a very long and cruel war that lasted for about 15 years. It not only included our world, Minera, but it also brought in a world called Earth. I don't remember much of the time but what I do remember is there were three forces in the war: the Resistance, the Sovereign, and the Liberators. I have no idea who lead the Resistance but the Sovereign, also known as the Mobs, were lead by Herobrine, an evil myth turned to flesh. He was said to be one of the most tactical and heartless leaders anyone in Minera and Earth have ever seen. To counteract Herobrine, the Liberators had Carter, a commander in his prime that led the Liberators to victory. Strange thing was that he united Earth's nations and he didn't have anything to do with the so called "Allies" the people of some nation created. No one knows what happened to him after the war but legends say he radiated a golden aura of light. Talk about a real good guy."

Carter... I feel like I know this guy. As if he was a long lost friend. I looked over to Destiny and she had a puzzled face also. Did she know something I didn't?

After a few seconds, Janax said, "Enough about the past, how about some cooked porkchops and bread huh? I can smell it already!"

The food was delicious, but it also helps that I haven't eaten since I got here. Janax was tearing into his food like he hasn't eaten in weeks. Circia was eating with her fork and knife like a normal person. I looked over at Destiny and she hasn't even touched her food.

"Your not hungry?" I asked.

She just nodded. I may not have known her for long but this is strange.

"If you need to say-"
"I'm fine." She cut me off.

She might be hiding something but what was it? What could she be hiding after losing her memory? I put those thoughts aside for now. I went back to eating my porkchop while Janax was talking about his days in the Liberator Army.

Apparently he knew this Carter character and was initiated into "The Third Legion." He had a golden badge to prove it. It was carved in the shape of a diamond and had small printing at the bottom that read "Lieutenant Janax Aether, for his commitment to the Legion." The badge was nicely crafted and looked a lot like Destiny's necklace, except it didn't glow gold.

"..He was a great guy. But towards the end of the war, he was marked 'Missing in Action.' No one ever told me what happened to Carter, not even the Legionaries themselves! Said it was a tragedy but nothing else. After the war, I came back to Minera and stumbled upon Sandshard. I met Circia and we fell in love." He explained changing his gaze to Circia.
"Yes, but that's a story for another day. You still haven't shown them around honey!"
"Oh right! Yes, how rude of me! Follow me." He said as he headed towards the door.

We thanked Circia for the meal and followed Janax outside. It was still high noon so we didn't have to worry about nighttime for a bit. With the sun high up, the heat was beaming on our faces like a laser. I shielded my eyes. There was a slight wind from behind us that blew sand in front of us. The gravel path felt rough and went through the town.

Janax guided us through the town, showing us different houses and introducing us to different people.

We met the doctor in a small rectangular house made of wood and sandstone. Her name Nimerna and she was also the librarian of the town. She didn't have many books but she made up for it with her laboratory. She had many brewing stands with different types of elixirs and potions.

"Each one has a different use!" she said, "But don't drink more than one if you know what's good for you!"

She was a strange woman.

Next, Janax introduced us to the blacksmith, Axio. He forged weapons for the warriors that protected the village. His house had an anvil outside next to a small pool of lava covered by iron bars, two furnaces stacked on each other, and a grindstone.

Inside his house, he had a small table and chairs by the entrance. He also had a chest and crafting table at the corner of his house which was next to his bed.

"If you ever need any tool or weapons made for you, anything at all, just call me."

He seemed like a very nice guy.

We got to the end of the gravel road as the sun started to set.

Janax stopped us abruptly and said, "Oh! Will you look at the time?! I have to be getting home, it's almost nighttime! See you at the house!" Then he left us alone.

Even though he deemed the tour over, there was one house left.

It was a small hut but there was something odd about it. The cobblestone had moss around it and the house looked as if it hasn't been touched for a while. Some of the wood looked liked it had been carved into.

I approached the hut and the carving became more clear. It was a diamond with the word LEGION carved at the top. I looked over to Destiny and she was mesmerized by the symbol.

"Do you know what this means?" I asked.

Nothing, she continued to stare and muttered something under her breath.

"The diamond..."

"Destiny?"
She shook her head and said, "Hmm?"
"You know what this symbol means?"
She stared at the symbol again for a while before replying to me.
"It...No."

She almost stopped mid sentence while saying that. Is she hiding something from me? What did she know about that symbol? What does the symbol mean? Is it linked to this Legion Janax was talking about? All these questions ran through my mind as Destiny ventured into the shack.

"Destiny! Wait up!"

I suddenly hear a loud shriek and dashed towards the door.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 6 The Remaining]Chapter 6: The Remaining
I slammed my entire body on the wooden door, ferociously twisting the doorknob. Eventually, I rammed the door with all my force and fell to the cobblestone floor of the hut.

The hut was empty and small in overall size. There's no sign of Destiny too. Damn it! I got up and looked around. In the corner of the hut, I saw an open trapdoor. That must be where they took Destiny. It has to be.

I quickly jumped into the trapdoor hole and found myself in a cavern. My knees took a big impact from the fall but I didn't care. I had to find Destiny.

The cavern was big enough to the point where the ceiling was a few feet up. The stone walls kept quiet but reflected the sound of running water. Water was dripping from far ends of the cavern to add to that.

Suddenly, I heard a cry from my right. It was almost the same shriek I hear from the hut. That must be Destiny.

"Destiny!" I yelled as I as dashed to the right, not even thinking about what lies ahead at the moment.

My feet slammed on to the solid, stone floor of the cave. My threatening footsteps echoed throughout the cave. What am I going to be facing, I thought to myself. Is Destiny ok? How will I handle this? What will I do if she isn't ok? How will I...

As I was running deeper into the cave, something, or someone, jumped from a higher level and fell on my back. My face slammed onto the stone, smearing it with the blood from my nose. My body was being pushed down by someone holding me down and on my back. Something metal was threateningly poking my side too.

"Who are you?! What brings you here?!" said a woman's voice quickly.
"I would ask you the same question." I replied with some confidence in my voice.
"Pendejo!" she screamed as she got me up viciously and pinned me to a wall.

"You tell me right now! Who sent you here!? Was it Martin?" she asked with hostility and with a knife to my neck.

I could finally see her clearly. She was a tall, fully grown woman armed to the teeth with weapons. She has pale skin and long, black hair that was tied in a tight ponytail. Her face reflected anger and hate but illuminated beauty and energy. She glared at me with her brown eyes. She was wearing a belt that had a well-crafted machete, a steel bow, a quiver full of wooden arrows, a hilt for her knife, various pouches, and heavily used rope. She was wearing ripped, gray jeans with blood-soaked gauze on her right knee and left thigh. She was also wearing a black V neck shirt.

"No one sent me! Destiny!" I yelled. She hit me with the handle of her knife.

I staggered to the ground as she got closer. She was going to kill me. I was resting on one knee, completely vulnerable. Blood dripped and gushed from nose and forehead. I touched my forehead gently and then saw blood on my fingers. The pain was slowly growing and it was only going to get worse.

"If you won't tell me, you're no use to." she said calmly.

Just as she was about to strike my head, something in my head commanded me to lift my arm. Someone's voice I didn't recognize.

"Doesn't she mean something to you!? Lift your arm!"

I lifted my arm and heard a loud clang. The voice's message echoed as the clang of the swords echoed throughout the cavern. I slowly rose my head a saw I had a sword in my hand. The clang came from it colliding with the knife.

"What?" the woman said in confusion.

The sword was beautifully crafted. It was an iron sword with different markings engraved on it. The leather handle had a center piece on it, a golden material glowing. Just like the one Destiny has as a necklace...

I pushed the sword forward with all my strength, launching my enemy away from me.

"Where is she?" I asked, raising my sword in her direction.

She did something that caught me off-guard. She unsheathed her knife, stood up straight, and then said something strange.

"So you are him." she said.
"What?"
"So he really did die." she muttered to herself.
"What are you talking about? Where's Destiny?"
"She's okay, we just needed to make sure you were him." she explained.
"Who's him?"
"Carter"

Carter? I can't be him. I'm not him. How can it be possible that I'm Carter? I'm me! Or am I? I didn't remember who I was so the possibly of me being Carter was there. But why did the name David echo in my head? Was it the same voice that commanded me to summon the sword?

"I'll take you to Destiny, follow me. And my name is Lupe."

She walks over to me then past me, deeper into the cave. Naturally, I have to follow her.

It seemed like we walked for miles. The cavern stretched for longer than I thought it would. We pasted by so many ores and various other materials, such as waterfalls and lava pools. Finally, we stopped at one specific waterfall. Lupe, suddenly, jumps into the waterfall and disappears. I heard a faint "Come on!" coming from the waterfall.

I jumped through and found myself in a narrow hallway of stone. The hallway lead to a huge room that looks dug out.

The room was like a military barracks and training room combined. To my left was a completely matted area with wooden sparing dummies, a rack with a variety of weapons, and three beds close to the wall. To my right was a large table with papers scattered over it, three chests along the wall, and a crafting table along side a furnace.

I look over to my left again and, out of nowhere, I was tackled by the beautiful girl I met in a cave. She almost gave me a bear hug and I'm glad she didn't. I did give her a bear hug. I was just glad she was safe. I felt like I was being hugged by an angel in heaven. But I opened my eyes and realized I'm in a training room. There goes heaven.

I let her go and said, "You okay?"
"Yeah..." she smiled.

"She has her smile you know..."

There was that voice again. Why was it there?

"You'll see soon."

What does that mean?

Destiny looked at my nose, still bleeding. She quickly went over to one of the chests, pulled out something, then returned to me. It was a small rag. She dabbed below my nose, wiping away the blood.

"What happened..."
"The welcome committee isn't very nice." She smiled. I looked over at Lupe and she stuck her tongue out at me. She has a silly side...

I hugged Destiny again, "Thank you."

I noticed there was two other people in the room, man and woman.

The girl had slightly dark blonde hair and was almost as tall as Destiny. She had an athlete's body and and was wearing a light blue blouse, a jeans jacket, and black shorts. She had a long wooden staff strapped to her back. She stood firm, almost statue-like, examining us. Me specifically. She had an iron knife on her belt, probably in case that staff breaks. What was strange was she had various pouches on her belt, probably more than Lupe had.

The boy was siting down on one of the beds. He wore a full leather armor, tunic and everything. He had a serious, stern face. He was also very muscular. He had short, black hair, combed forward and outward. When he stood up, he looked slightly shorter than me. He was also playing around with a chunk of coal in his hand. Why, you may ask. I don't know.

"Are you sure it's him?" the man said in such a firm voice.
"Positive, he has the sword."

I looked at my hand and didn't even notice the sword was gone.

"He doesn't look like him to me." the woman said in a calm voice.
"It is him," Lupe turned. Our eyes meet. "I'm sure of it."
"So this is what happened to him?" the man said.
"Happened to who?" Destiny asked softly.
"Carter." the woman said.

That's the third time I heard this guy's name. I still haven't hear any answers.

"How rude of us, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Clarke" the man said seriously.
"I'm Kami, nice to meet you!" she said with a smile.
"I've already introduced myself enough." Lupe said leaning on a wall with her arms crossed.
"I'm sure you want answers, right?"

I nodded in agreement. Destiny just stood beside me.

"Let's start off with who we are. We call ourselves the Remaining because that's what we are. We are the last of the Legionaries that fought in the Excalibur War. The rest are either dead or on Earth. We stayed because Carter choose us to protect Minera. We all have powers too." Powers? As in superpowers? How is that possible? "I can use fire to me advantage."

And with that, the chunk of coal in his hand caught fire. Destiny jumped and I quickly comforted her.

The fire made a crackling sound so I thought his hand was burning. Actually, his hand was completely in tact and fire still burnt. He, then, closed his hand and like that, the fire went out.

"I have spells." Kami said with mischievous smile.

She, then, took out her staff and raised it skyward. In an instant, she started to rise, as if she was hovering. I thought it was kind of cool until she flipped over completely and shot over to the ceiling. She was now standing on the ceiling, like if she was Spider-Man. Now that's cool.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Me and Destiny nodded in sync.

She then fell to the ground on her feet, like a cat.

"My powers are more... passive." Lupe explained. "I think you guys should be getting some sleep. It's pretty late."
"You still haven't answered why you think I'm Carter." I said with annoyance in my voice.
"Tomorrow, right now we need to do recon. Make sure no monsters get near Sandshard." Clarke said as he rushed into the narrow hallway, past us.
"Night, night!" Kami said as she did the same.
"Good night." Lupe said as she walked through the narrow hallway.

I sighed. I was so confused.

"Maybe sleep's a good idea..." Destiny said.
"Yeah."

I walked over to one of the beds as Destiny went her own. I jumped into the bed and just passed out.

The dream I had was probably the weirdest I might ever have.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 7: Split Dreams]Chapter 7: Split Dreams
(First Person David View)
I knew that I dreaming but I couldn't control the dream. So it wasn't a lucid dream.

I felt like I was falling. It wasn't a "Oh sh*t! I'm falling!" type of fall. It was more of a graceful fall. Once I stopped descending, I could finally feel my body and I found myself in a different place.

I was lying on my back, looking at a blue sky. I stood up and rubbed my eyes. The forest was all around me once again, I could smell it. But at the same time, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like the forest was... there. It didn't feel like the forest I had explored.

Strange. How could that be?

I was staring at a beautiful lake, that sparkled almost unnaturally, followed by a waterfall. The waterfall and lake blended perfectly along with the forest around it.

Instinctively, I stood up and walked over to the beautiful scenery. The scene was literally breathtaking. A perfect collage of greenery and the majestic lake.

I eventually reached the edge of the waterfall. The water fell down and collided with the lake as beautifully as the environment was. I walked through the waterfall without thinking what might be on the other side. Almost as if I was told to.

My entire body face planted on hard stone. I stood up and realized I felt no pain. I touched my nose softly. I wasn't bleeding. This must be a dream.

I found myself in a room, much like the one I found Destiny in. Except this place was more like a smaller command center and was slightly narrow.

Two lines of chests were placed along the wall with charts and maps above them. To the far right, shelves of different books towered, almost touching the ceiling. Behind the shelves was a narrow passage way and two pedestals. To my far left was an armory. Vibrant light blue armor and weapons were showcased on marble pedestals, ready for battle or just to add to the decor.

But what was important was who was in front of me. A fully grown man was casually sitting in a chair by a long table.

"Come on." He was not demanding, he was inviting.

I approached out of instinct and got a closer look at him. He had black, medium sized hair and a full mustache and a batch of hair under his lip. His thick eyebrows made him look threatening but welcoming at the same time. He had tan skin and a very noticeable burn mark on his neck. His green eyes glistened in the torch light but when I blinked, his eye color turned gold.

He sat on the chair, tall and straight as if he was disciplined brutally. His black hood fell behind him as if he took it off when he adjusted himself. His hoodie also had strange markings on the sleeves. He also wore dark blue jeans and black sneakers.

I was less than arms length from him.

"Do you know who I am?"

He expects me to know the answer. I shook my head then he sighed.

"Figures. But I'm not going to tell you who I am."

Long pause.

"I will tell you my story. Sit please."
"But there's no-"
"Are you sure?"

I glanced behind me and a wooden chair was right behind me. It just appeared there. This is a dream.

"How did you-"
"Not important. Sit"

I sat down and he started to tell me about his time here and journey.

This guy was stranded on this god-forsaken land years ago. He was around my age. He went through many trouble and went on many adventures. He also mentioned Herobrine. He was as bad as Janax described him. He was ruthless, maniacal, and evil. He was the one who started the first attack of the Excalibur War. He began it all.

But he also mentioned a kind of fat, Swedish man named Notch. He helped him through the Excalibur War and disappeared shortly after it ended.

"But if you were in the Excalibur War, then your..."
"Go on." He was smiling.

"Carter..."

My mind was having a hard time wrapping around the concept that this is Carter.

"But they said you-"
"Disappeared? Died? I kind of did. I entered the Afterlife and... some things happened." He lowered his head.

He swung his head back up and said, "But that's not important. What's important is you and Destiny."
"Destiny? Why us? And what makes us so special?"

Carter got up from his chair very slowly, as if he was injured. It seems like those years in the Excalibur War took its toll on him. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a huge scar that wrapped itself around his arm. It looked like he was whipped repeatedly.

He lifted his head and looked me right in the eye. His face tainted with a mixture of sadness and grief. His scars and overall look showed how threatening he could be but I could feel his sorrow.

When I looked at him, I felt like I was looking in a mirror but it wasn't me in the reflection.

"You hold a part of what I used to be. A piece of my heart, you could say."
"What?"

My gaze drifted off to the ground. Part of him...

"How is that-"
"Possible? Lots of concepts are possible in this world. Like how I'm talking to you right now or how you can summon my sword from thin air. Even though you are partially me, your not entirely me."

My head was beating itself up trying to understand what he was telling me. Part of him...

"I've noticed but what do you mean? Is that why I can't remember who I am? Because I'm you?"

He walked past me and paced around. He had his head lowered as if he was remembering something.

"It's hard to explain..." He said with his head still lowered.
"How complicated can it be? We're talking about me and you right now."

He shot me a look and walked up to me. We were face to face.

"You haven't been through what I have. It's a lot more complicated than you think."
"Ok then, what about Destiny? How is she important?"

I hit a nerve. His face softened and he looked towards the ground again.

"She carries a piece of Anya..." He muttered under his breath.
"Who's Anya?" I asked trying to look him in the eye.

A long, silent pause then he said, "No one." He shook his head and looked at me again.
"What you have to do is protect Destiny. That's how she's important."
"Protect her from what?"
"You ask a lot of questions. The Sovereign. Protect her from the Sovereign."

I spaced out from a moment before it clicked in my head who the Sovereign are.

"The Sovereign are alive?" He nodded.
"How?"
"I don't know. Just protect her. Please."

He was pleading for me to protect her. I was the only one who was caring about her. And who is Anya? And if Destiny carries a piece of Anya, who is she to Carter? I'll try to piece this together later.

"I'll do my best Carter."

----------------------------------------------------------
(First Person Destiny View)
The world seemed to be amerced in fog. I could barely distinguish my surroundings, let alone the ground I was standing on. The rough soil got scrapped as I slowly started to walk around. I felt a cold wind.

This was ridiculous. I was stumbling around a veil of fog with no idea where I was going.

I looked up and, as if on command, the fog lifted to unveil a luminous full moon. Sky high trees and an eerie atmosphere surrounded me. The fog was still thick a great distance away so I couldn't see any further.

But there was something strange ahead, something that was in range of my line of sight. I could have sworn I saw someone.

Something, or someone, started to walk out of the fog. Two figures, one with a black cloak and the other with a white one, both girls.

They were both holding a sword. A purple and black one for the black cloak and an iron, gold colored one for the white cloak.

The black cloak had her light brown hair popping out of her hood. She looked almost as tall as me. Her face was as pale as the full moon and glared at the white cloak with vicious, red eyes. I couldn't tell but it looked like she was slightly squinting.

The white cloak had her hair hidden in her hood because I couldn't see it. Her face was tanner than the black cloak's and she had green eyes. She also seemed to be slightly taller than me.

In an instant, the black cloak dashed over to the white cloak. At first, I thought she was running but her legs didn't move. She just slightly leaned forward and... moved. As if she was gliding.

CLANG! Her sword struck but the white cloak deflected it and countered with a push. She staggered back and the white cloak struck back. She made impact but the black cloak blocked with her sword, one hand on the handle and the other one the edge.

I couldn't take it anymore, I ran over to their battle zone, but it seemed like an eternity. They kept striking at each other as I tried to reach them. The ground between me and them seemed to be increasing in distance. At last, I reached them but I didn't know what to do.

The black cloak held the sword like a dagger but backwards and skyward. She, then, slammed the pommel on the white cloak's head. She lurched back and was pinned to a tree.

Instinctively, I ran up to the black cloak and tackled her. She gave a small yelp as we both fell to the soil. She broke my fall but what happened next was worse.

I rolled over on my back, my head suffering from a splitting headache. I put my hands on the sides of my head, believing it would numb the pain. It didn't.

Images ran through my head as fast as a rapid wind on an autumn day.

A peaceful mountain range that has been littered with monsters fighting something in the crowd of warriors. I felt pride, and rage. The image blurred away and was replaced. Holding a diamond, but it couldn't have been a diamond. It was blood red. The ground was solid rock, like the underground base Lupe took me to.

A horrible, white monster floating above a purple and black rectangle. A purple, unstable substance filled the middle of the rectangle, taunting me to enter. Just as I approached, the image dazed away.

I was looking at a large city, beautiful but tainted with battle and destruction. Warriors locked in combat at every direction and corner. I saw swords but I also saw another strange weapon. It seemed to shoot projectiles at a rapid rate. I suddenly looked up, to the right specifically, and saw a flaming missile hit a large building. It tumbled down but the image changed before I saw the impact.

I didn't just see images, I heard voices. Messages. They echoed in my head as if I had been hit with a bell.

"I never meant to hurt you!"

"I'm standing on the edge of returning or just running."

"I can't go back! You know that well!"
"You could have always came back!"

A strike of the splitting headache hit again. I couldn't take it anymore!

"They sent in the Legionaries!"

"Send in the wither..."

"We can't hold this base much longer!"

"They took the Golden Diamond ma'am."

"You never loved me..."
"I did. You just never saw beyond what you saw in front of you..."

The loved and the denied... Who's Carter?

I screamed until it stopped. The visions and voices finally stopped and the pain was gone.

The black cloak was at my side, disoriented and hands on her hand. The white cloak got up and walked towards us. She looked at the black cloak then me. She held her hand out to help me up.

I guess I made the right choice.

I accepted her help and grabbed her hand. The moment I made contact, images ran through my head again. But there wasn't any pain, just the swift breeze passing by in sync with the images.

I was overlooking a battlefield. Combats was all over the small town. Burning buildings were burnt to draw out warriors from hiding. Objects were thrown inside and a smoke could inside appear. Warriors raced out of the building only to get killed. What stood out from everyone else was one man killing but also helping people out of the burning buildings. Innocent villagers and warriors alike. He then looked in my direction and smiled.

The scene changed. I was running now, away from something. I also had something in my hand. I checked and it was a diamond. A glowing, golden diamond.

The image faded away. I was now in a room, tables and strange equipment was around the place. The stranger part was I felt like I wasn't actually there, like I was a lingering apparition. I was looking at a portal, like the one I saw in the other vision, but this one was made of a yellow, glowing rock and blue, unstable substance. I couldn't see clearly because my eyes were watery. Was I crying?

A man approached the portal but looked back before he entered. It was the same man that smiled at me. He mouthed two word...

Goodbye... Anya.

Voices began to echo in my head just like before.

"The addressing is being held in Tokyo, Japan ma'am."

"Carter wants to attack immediately, Commander."

"We'll go together."

"You killed him!"
"I did what I had to do!"
"What you had to do or what you wanted to do..."

"I never stopped loving you."

"Goodbye... Anya."

The image dazed off and I was back in the forest. My knees buckled and I was kneeling. I looked up, I saw her face. Carter must have thought he was a lucky man...

"So your..."
She smiled and said, "It's only the beginning for you."

The world dissolved and I woke up to an earthquake.

----------------------------------------------------------

I woke up to David shaking me.

"Finally your awake," he said as he let me go.

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes.

"Weird dreams?" he asked me.
"You can say that again." I said groggily.

Suddenly, the earth shook at the impact of something. Clarke came from the hallway, beating with sweat.

"The Sovereign are attacking! We must hurry!"
David sighed, "We're not gonna get a break are we?"

I smiled and nodded. We rushed into the hallway, following Clarke into war.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ch. 8: The Battle of Sandshard]
Chapter 8: The Battle of Sandshard
[spoiler=Part 1]
(First Person Destiny View)
I never noticed how hard the stone was the first time I was here. Being captured against your will doesn't really give you the chance to investigate your surroundings, you know? Our footsteps projected across the cave to the point where the echo almost came back.

I was running right behind David and Clarke. What will await us on the surface? Also, what made that terrifyingly strong earthquake? It was definitely not natural.

I tried to piece this together in my mind but after the dream I had, that wasn't going to happen.

We climbed up the ladder and exited the small, decoy hut in the span of twenty seconds (about). Clarke rapidly turned his head to the left. I looked over and saw what he was looking at. David did too.

I could see them.

The Sovereign.

From the outskirts of the desert, many warriors and monsters started to approach the small village, as if emerging from the horizon.

I saw the same undead that almost abducted me. I could still hear their gargled, disgustingly deep voices echoing in my head.

"Capturrrrre. Rrrreturrrn. Marrrrtin."

I shuddered at the thought of that experience and put it aside.

"You okay?"

I looked over and saw it was David.

I quickly looked away and nodded, "Y...yeah, I'm fine."

David started to talk to Clarke. Probably about what was going on.

It wasn't just the undead. Walking, decaying human skeletons slowly marched forward with a bow at... bone. Strange, green monsters, that walked on four lags, promenaded along side the others. Large, hairy spiders advanced with their long, equally hairy eight legs.

I got goosebumps from just looking at the thing. It's red, hostile eyes looked forward and onward only.

The monsters were also accompanied by warriors, human warriors. They wore black armor that seemed to glow a slight shade of purple. Just like the sword the black cloak had. Same material.

The Sovereign army was approaching and we had to be ready.

----------------------------------------------------------

Clarke guided us to the barracks, located right next to Axio's forge. Sandshard had an army of their own, but it was puny compared to the Sovereign. He went deeper into the crowd of warriors without us.

The barracks was a huge, cobblestone building that held forty fully armed soldiers in leather armor and iron swords, all crafted by Axio. Inside, the room was a magnificent, monumental headquarters full of beds, weapon racks, tables, maps, and charts. The entire room was lit by an array of torches from the ceiling.

It wasn't just villagers that will be sent into the battlefield. White statues came to life from titanic pedestals, enveloped in vines and leaves from the little use.

"Meet the iron golems. Intimating isn't it?" a familiar voice said from behind us.
"Janax, good to see you again." David said as he turned around.
"Let's hope it's not the last time you see me." He looked over David shoulder and said, "Hello Destiny."
"Hi," I said as I waved.

I turned my attention towards the idle iron golem while David and Janax discussed strategy.

Their towering height and build would give them an overall advantage over smaller enemies. The golem's iron skin would protect them from simple assaults. Their long arms can give them give them great strength and tremendous reach.

"Where's your armor?" Janax asked, interrupting my thoughts and standing with his scratched, iron armor.

I looked over to David and he just gave me a slight shoulder raise of confusion.

"No items? Not a problem! Follow me."

Janax nicely pushed through small crowds of warriors that were talking and preparing for battle. Occasionally saying "Excuse me" or just apologizing for bothering. We followed him to the upstairs.

Apparently, no one else was allowed to come up here. It was a small armory. It was marvelous. Stone bricks and symbols lined up and created the walls. Pedestals, all with names on a small plates. A gold circle was painted in the middle and five pedestals in full gold stood proudly. The pedestals held the small gear, such as gauntlets or blades, while wooden, life size and headless figurines held clothing or actual armor.

"This use to be the entire Legion's armory."

Only empty pedestals stood along the walls and inside the circle. Except for two fairly wide ones.

"Why is it empty?" I asked quietly.
"We sent everything on a convoy to Minera City. Great place, you know? Anyways, we were afraid if Sandshard were to fall, this would all be destroyed. So, we packed up everything and sent it to the city."

"Why did you leave these?" David asked, pointing at the exquisitely designed gear and clothing.
Janax paused for a moment then said, "Their for you..."

He went to talk on about who's it was and why it was for us. But I could see why on the gear itself. I walked up to the pedestals and figurines. I entered the circle and could see what both plates below said

Carter Morellos
Leader of the Liberators
1 year of survival
10 years of service

October 30, 1997 - December 22, 2023


Anya Rosario
Commander of the Liberator Army
10 years of service

July 20, 1997 - December 22, 2023

These were Carter and Anya's stuff. They actually wore this into battle. Didn't die in it since it's right here.

Speaking of dying, I noticed that Carter and Anya died on the same day. That's really romantic and tragic but why December 22? What's so special about that day? More importantly, what happened that day?

"Best not to think about it."

I twirled my head around to see who was talking. Janax was still talking and David didn't notice me. They were looking at another Legionaries gear.

"Who said that?" I thought.

"The white cloak."

The dream. The forest. The images. The pain. I still remember it since it was only less than an hour ago.

"Anya?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you know I called you that?"

"I'm part of you, I can read your thoughts if I want to."

"Great, there's goes my privacy."

"Don't worry, I can't read it 24/7. But I think Carter can. Lucky him."

"Who's Carter?"

"Not right now, my child. Battle first then questions."

"I'm not your child and I want answers."

"Don't sass me. I'm leaving."

"But I..."

"I said goodbye."

And like that, she was gone from my thoughts. That was really strange and sudden. And I'm surprised how quickly she got offended,

Anyways, on Carter's pedestal were his gloves and his gauntlets. His gloves were made of clean, brown leather and had strange markings etched on the front. His two gauntlets were made of both iron and leather. The iron plating wrapped around the leather like a mold. The iron plating was carved with similar markings from the gloves. Since the gauntlet was placed sideways, I could see a strange contraption on the bottom of it. It had something to do with the blade in the mechanism.

Carter's clothes were neatly placed on the figurine, as if he was wearing them himself. It was a long coat, a shirt, jeans, and shoes. The coat was like a trench coat but thinner. It was white and black on the edges of the clothing. A red shirt and black, loose jeans came along with black, white, and red shoes. Carter must like the color red.

"Actually, his favorite color is blue."

There she was again.

"Then why is it red?"

"Why not?"

"Blue."

"I don't know. It's his taste in clothing."

She did have a point.

"Thank you."

Anyways, Anya's pedestal held two of the same gauntlets that were on Carter's, two similar gloves, and a gold quiver.

The gloves were etched with different symbols and markings but the quiver was interesting. The whole quiver was made of gold except for the strap. The strap was similar to the leather used to make the gloves. Inside the quiver were a whole pack of arrows. The arrows were facing down so I could see the arrows blue nock.

Anya's clothing weren't as... flashy as Carter's were. A white hoodie and brown pants. The white hoodie had sleeves that didn't reach the wrists completely and was more of a grey hoodie than white. The brown pants looked smooth and had a small pouch, on the lower leg, for an emergency probably.

"...And finally, Carter and Anya's gear." Janax said as he approached the two pedestals with David following.

"Pretty self-explanatory these are."

The strange part was that the place Carter's sword was suppose to be was empty. Same for Anya's bow.

"Why is this empty?" I asked.
Janax turned around. "Ah! I was getting to that. A few moons ago, the sword and bow suddenly disappeared, without a trace! We searched for weeks and never found it. It was tragic to lose two important pieces of history so suddenly." He slightly lowered his head. "Shame."

In a second, I realized where it was and, from the surprised look on his face, David knew too. David had the sword. I remembered when Lupe and Clarke were talking about it yesterday.

But, where's the bow?

After the thought, a flash of bright, white light blinded my eyes. It was over in a matter of seconds. It must have illuminated the entire room because Janax and David were lowering their arms from their eyes.

David was holding the sword but I felt something in my grip.

"Incredible..."

Janax stared in awe at both Carter's sword and Anya's bow. I had to get a look of it myself.

The bow's base was made of pure gold but the markings were shown as iron. Whoever crafted it did a great job on the creating it. The curves of the bow were perfect and string seemed indestructible.

"Well... I guess they're yours... Oh right! The battle! Go and gear up! We don't have all day!"

----------------------------------------------------------

There was an upper room of the barracks that was used for training. No one was using it so we took turns changing in there.

After, we were escorted by four village warriors, fully armed and armored. Me and David were walking towards the battlefield, just like Carter and Anya did thousands of times.

We were passing by many abandoned houses and other buildings. Some were already burning.

Did we bring this upon them? Is this all our fault? I walked by a few of the fallen. There was no mercy for them. Their faces were filled with fear. It looked like they were ripped to pieces. And none of them were warriors. Saddest part was some of them were children.

"Are you okay?"

I turned around. David was looking at me with his amber eyes.

I looked away and said, "Yeah..."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

I turned my head again and my eyes locked with his. His amber eyes didn't fit him that well, but I didn't care. His black hair was poking out of his hood and waving with the wind.

I hung my head. My face felt hot. "Y-yes..."

David refocused his vision forward, towards the battlefield. "Okay then."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Part 2]
A few minutes later, we were three houses away from the war zone. It was horrible and chaotic.

The desert was littered with monsters, village warriors, Sovereign warriors, iron golems, and the fallen lying on the the ground, lifeless. Warriors fought against warriors and warriors fought against abominations. Sword against sword. Sword against claw or something else.

I could hear the occasional, thunderous roars of the iron golems as one of the undead flew into the air. I kind of smiled at the airborne undead. Good job golems.

In front of us were some of the buildings that haven't been burnt down yet. Some villagers were on the roofs, taking out zombies and other monsters with one arrow. Villagers, on the ground, were having a hard time.

I then heard shouting from behind us. I recognized the voice.

"We need more support from the archers!"
He turned to one of the archers on the roof.
"What the hell are you guys doing?! My men are dying out there!"
"We're low on ammunition!" the archer barked back.
"Then explain to me why you aren't using your Infinity enchanted bow!" Janax retorted back.
"We are using them, sir! Something is nullifying the enchant!"

Janax turned the other way, frustrated and punching a wooden wall. "Notch dammit!"
"Is this a bad time, Janax?!" David yelled over the noise from the war zone.
"What?!" He turned around. "Ah! David! Destiny! Perfect timing! We need some support on both ends, so I'm gonna need you in the battlefield and you," he said pointing at me, "up on one of those roofs, providing air support! Do I make myself clear!"
"Yes sir!" David and I shouted in sync.
"Good! Now go!"

David instantly ran off into the battlefield, probably thinking as if he was as indestructible as those iron golems. With his fighting skills, he probably was.

David swung and fought as if he killed for a living. As I went up the ladder, I saw David swing his iron sword at unsuspected zombies and pierce the heads of spiders lurking on the ground. He sliced the heads off of the strange, green monsters before they even got close to him. Maybe Carter's skills are kicking in for David. Lets hope Anya's kick in for me.

I reached the top top of the roof and overlooked the turbid battle. Anya's bow was in the grip of my right hand. Her quiver on my back. I pull out one blue arrow from the quiver and raise my bow. I position the arrow on the bow and aim.

The arrow and a Sovereign warrior align. I release the arrow. I had to hold on to the bow tightly because the arrow threatened to take the bow with it. It didn't and continued to fly towards the warrior in a spiral.

The poor guy never saw it coming. The arrow penetrated his helmet and punctured his head. He fell lifelessly to the ground.

I thought my first kill was going to hit me hard. Killing someone for being on the other side. Monsters are one thing, but this was a human. Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything. I had no remorse for what I did.

"No regrets, Destiny..."

I froze. That wasn't Anya's voice.

"Who are you?"

My vision went red. I couldn't feel my body yet I was still standing. I had no control. It sounded like someone stuffed my ears with something, but I can hear a little. I started to panic but I only thought of panicking.

"Embrace the darkness, Destiny. Feel no remorse!"

I recognized that voice now. It was from the dream. The images. The voices.

She started to make me pull out an arrow and position it in the bow.

"What are you doing?"

"Carter betrayed me! This is my vengeance!"

She aimed the bow towards David.

"No. No. No! No! You can't do this!"

If I had any control over my body, I would have been crying and screaming and not trying to shoot David.

"I already have! You must suffer what I have suffered!"

Right as she was about to let go, a golden light blinded my eyes. The light came from my necklace.

"Not today, Claire."

My vision normalized and I regained control of my body. The sounds and screams of the battlefield returned. David continued dueling other warriors as if nothing happened.

What just happened? Who's Claire? Is she the black cloak?

An aggressive wind flew behind me. I heard the footsteps of two people. A deep, masculine voice spoke. "Don't worry. It will all be over soon."

I fell to the ground, almost lifeless. The world dissolved around me in seconds. I didn't even feel the hit.

----------------------------------------------------------

(First Person David View)
The battlefield felt like a sea of monsters. Each one fighting one and another. Villagers and monsters alike falling to the ground, limp and with an absent soul. I'm not even sure these monsters have souls. The villagers were putting up a good fight, but I was doing half the work. I killed like I had been doing this for years.

Carter's sword was unbelievably durable. Strike after strike, it kept intact. Slay after slain, I felt like I was returning something that was lost. A fire that was extinguished. Ignited once more. Something that was lost. Something that Carter lost.

I assumed Carter's skills kicked in and I was annihilating every single enemy I saw because of that. The warriors were the only ones giving me the trouble. They had some sense in them. And they looked terrifying. Their pale skin and white eyes made them look like demons. They fought with strategy and strength, deflecting swings when they could and attacking when an opportunity appeared.

But I wasn't invincible, when those demon warriors attacked, they hit hard. Cuts and bruises covered my body and tore my clothes. But somehow, when I wasn't looking, my clothes seemed to repair themselves. Next time I see Carter in my head, I'm gonna have him answer a lot of my questions.

The Remaining were fighting alongside me too, but they were in the mobs, almost invisible if it weren't for the flames and auras.

Clarke was burning monsters to a crisp with each punch and kick. It was amazing how the flames burst out of his hands at command. At one point, he focused the flames into two blade forms, coming out of his knuckles with a single movement. He sliced and charred the enemies at the same time.

Kami was out in the distance. I noticed she was there because of the random orbs and beams shooting out from the crowd. I advanced to her position, decapitating a zombie in one swing and sprint-stabbing a warrior on the way. As nice and innocent as Kami seemed to be, she fought viciously, even mercilessly. Every time any enemy approached, she whipped around her staff and smacked them across the face. While they were stunned, she casted any spells that would burn, freeze, solidify, or annihilate her foe. Her favorite was the annihilate option.

I advanced further into the sea and caught visuals of Lupe fighting. She fought with precision and grace. Each swing with that machete to the only spot that would cause massive damage. Each dodge was like she saw the attack a mile away. Not a single scratch on her yet.

"What are you doing here?!" she shouted towards me. How did she already know I was here?
"Fighting! How about you?!"
"What does it look like I'm doing?!" she yammered back as slit a warrior's throat.

I parried a warrior's swung and buried my sword into his torso. I turn back and reply with, "Why do you hate me?!"
She kicked a zombie down and threw a knife at its head in one swift motion. "Now's not really the time for a Q&A!"
"We might not get any time!"

After dodging an arrow from the distance, she looked to her left. Her surprised face made me look in the same direction.
"You'll probably have time for that..."
A huge, muscular warrior was slowly walking from the village, carrying something. His black armor was adjusted to his size and an enormous, purple sword was strapped to his back. I realized what he was carrying, actually who.

"Destiny!"

I ran faster than I did night I when I was in the cave. Pushing beasts and people out of my way. A poor zombie tried to attack me, but I decapitated him instantly. I tightened my grip on my sword. I approached the big guy.

He sensed me and turned around. He made a horrible mistake too. Throwing down Destiny like a rag doll just made me angrier.

I ran towards him, sword in hand and no thoughts in my head. When I reached him, he swung at me with his huge, meaty hand. He hit me right across the face. It felt like a boulder was thrown at me at top speed. Regardless of the hit, I barely stood my ground with a very wobbly stance. I tried to swing my sword at him, but he blocked with his gargantuan one. This time he disarmed me and my sword flew out of my reach.

I was defenseless. Or was I?

My gauntlets! I deployed the blades from my gauntlets and used both to attack. He blocked again and I would have flown back, but he grappled on to my wrist. He tightened his grip and smashed the gauntlets on my arm. I screamed in pain from the remains of my gauntlet piercing my skin and his grip. Blood quickly started flowing from my arm.

"Pathetic..." said the burly man in a very deep voice.

He let go and I fell to the ground. Half unconscious, I saw the big man take Destiny once again. There nothing I could do...

"Come on, David! Is that all you got?!"

Carter screamed in my head. I felt a sudden surge of energy. Not a metaphorical one, a literal one. I knew what I had to do.

The big man was already walking away.

The surge got stronger. Lightning engulfed my entire arm. I could feel the energy replenish me. I lifted myself up. I ripped the damaged gauntlet off my hand, the adrenaline pumping through my body nullified the pain. I positioned my open, left hand at the big man's back. I felt the spark leave my entire arm.

It was all so fast. I flew back from the recoil. The big man took the impact. I shot out a lightning bolt. It hit him and went straight through him, leaving a path. He fell to the ground and so did Destiny. I swiftly ran to her.

I was at her side in an instant. I completely ignored the enduring battle around us. Out of instinct, I put my two fingers at the bottom of her wrist. I suddenly felt alarmed. I didn't feel anything. She wasn't responding.

She was dying.

My eyes started to get watery, a little. I didn't know what to do.

"Carter! Help me!"
"Do I have to tell you everything? Um... Oh! Shock her."
"What!?"
"Only slightly."
"That'll kill her!"

I don't know if I could do it. If it works, Destiny lives. If it doesn't, I would be responsible...

I couldn't do that to her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew it was my fault.

"Just do it! Trust me and hurry!"

Damn it! I closed my eyes.

I'm sorry if this doesn't work, Destiny.

I shocked my hands at command. Small sparks came out of my hand.

"What do I do now?"
"Press on her chest and shock her. Remember, only a jolt!" Carter warned.

I did as he said. I shocked her and her chest jumped up slightly. I almost thought she was alive. But she just stayed there.

"Carter!" I screamed at him.
"Okay! Okay!... Do it again."

I shocked her again. She did the same, but no response. Tears were now streaming down my face.

"One more time!... I'm sure of it."

I shocked her for the last time. Same response. She was still lying there. The tears turned into a river. I stayed there, sobbing.

I failed. She was dead. I was all my fault...

Suddenly, I heard a gasp for air. My head shot up and I saw Destiny sitting up in front of me, alive.

"David?"

I hugged her. Squeezing her as tight as I could.

"You're alive!" I shouted, relieved.
"So are you! And you're hurting me!"

I let her go, "Sorry..."

The moment was short lived. I heard a deafening shout from close by. It was a phrase being shouted in a deep voice.

"Sistere tempore!"

At command, everything stopped. Sound, movement. Everything was frozen, but us. Time stood still.

Me and Destiny turned our attention to where the voice came from.

In a v formation, five hooded figures start to approached us and stopped a few feet. Three girls and two boys. The boy in the middle, who seemed to be leading, took off his hood.

He was a teenage boy with black, spiky hair and very pale skin. His eyes were crimson and wore a very menacing smile. To his right were two women. To his left were a woman and a man.

"You two aren't that hard to track, you know." he stated, surprising me with his deep, masculine voice.

I summoned my sword and stepped in front of Destiny, "Who are you?"

He let out a loud laugh, "How rude of me! I'm Martin. You know? Leader of the Sovereign. Former Herobrine's protege. How do you not know me?"
"Haven't been keeping up on current events lately."
"Ah! Yes. The whole you don't remember anything thing. I completely get. You know-"
"Why are you here?!" I demanded.
"Damn! You're focused. I like you. Shame I'll have to kill you though."
I nodded my head, "That won't happen... Now I'll ask you again..." I pointed my sword at him, "Why are you here?!"
He sighed, "You're no fun. I'm just here to tell you that you'll soon die and I'll be taking her off your hands."
"No f*ck­ing way. I'll kill you first!"
He laughed again, "That won't be possible since my next battalion of mobs will be coming in soon! You and Sandshard will fall! And if you don't, you'll die soon anyways."

I had enough. I ran up to him and tried slicing him. Instead, I phased through the projection of him. He didn't even flinch. I fell to the ground. Martin's group all laughed at the same time.

Martin turned around and approached me.

"I'll just kill you now..."

Dark, red energy radiated from his hands and came closer to me. The air started to very cold all of the sudden.

Suddenly, Martin fell to the ground as a block of ice hit him in the back. He instantly got up and looked at Destiny. She was pointing her hand in the same direction the ice cube came from.

"Destiny..."
Martin roared, "I will kill you soon, David! She just delayed the inevitable!"

Martin marched back into position and shouted, "Rescindentes omnes! Ianuae Magicae ad aeternam mea!"

In the blink of an eye, they were gone and time was flowing again.

I, quickly, made my sword disappear and ran away from the battle zone. Destiny was following me. We had to tell Janax about the next battalion.

"Destiny! We have to warn Janax about the battalion!"
"Yeah, I know!"

A few minutes of fighting later, we reached Janax ordering some Sandshard soldiers by the burnt homes.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?! I gave you both order!"
"Sir, with all do respect, I apologize for disobeying orders, but you have to form a retreat!"
Janax looked confused, "Why in Notch's name would I do that?! They haven't advanced and Sandshard is still our!"
"Martin's order his next battalion to attack!"
"Who the hell-"

Before Janax could finish, a fireball flew to the building right beside us. It destroyed the structure and the sniper positioned on top of it. The battalion was here. I could see the masses of mobs form from the edge of the desert.

"We have to go now!" Destiny screamed at him.
Janax was speechless.
"Janax!"

He sighed, "We can't leave now. We've dug our own grave. All we can do now is hold them off long enough for the convoy to get out of sight..."
"No, Janax. We're going, now." I pleaded.
"I can't go. If we pull out, they'll just follow us." He looked me in the eye with a devastated face, "Tell Circia I'm sorry for what I did and that I love her."
"Janax! We're not leaving here without you!"
He looked at me again, "If you want to die here, that's your decision, but you have to stop the Sovereign. Join the convoy and get to Minera City. Your fate isn't to die here..."
I sighed in defeat, "It's been an honor serving with you for one battle."
"Likewise, soldier."
"Goodbye Janax." Destiny hugged Janax.

My last sight of him was him shedding a few tears, on the battlefield.

----------------------------------------------------------

The convoy was using the outer perimeter of the jungle to head to Minera City. It was the longer way, but it was also more concealed. We didn't have to worry about the Sovereign right now since they got delayed.

Me and Destiny started to march in the same direction as the convoy.

The jungle was straight to our right. We were taking the forest path. The jungle looked a lot... greater up close. I was amazed by how big the jungle trees were. Ladders of vines fell from the leaves and the trunk. Some of the trees even had orange plants growing out of them.

Suddenly, we heard a noise.

I pulled Destiny behind a tree. "What is it?" she asked quietly.
"I heard something." I whispered.

I peeked my head out. "What is is?"
"The convoy."[/spoiler]

Where's the rest of the story? On the second page... Right... To be specific, post 22.

Provide any feedback or commentaries on the story and what I could potentially improve on if you want! I'm not perfect so remember that.
-Assassino[/spoiler]

Include spoilers.


And eat eldritch Abominations!

Quote from MadScientist

Include spoilers.


And eat eldritch Abominations!

Include spoilers? Why would you want that?

Well.
Spoilers not like spoilery previews and such but "Forum" Spoilers. The thing you click and a mass of text appears.

Many people do not like reading things if they are unorganized. Texts without spoilers seem unorganized. Not that they are! I think there us some psychologic reason why people like that but I don't know it.

It is just to help you. If you don't want it is fine .

Quote from MadScientist

Well.
Spoilers not like spoilery previews and such but "Forum" Spoilers. The thing you click and a mass of text appears.

Many people do not like reading things if they are unorganized. Texts without spoilers seem unorganized. Not that they are! I think there us some psychologic reason why people like that but I don't know it.

It is just to help you. If you don't want it is fine .

I completely forgot about those. Thank you for telling me.

Quote from Immortus

Not bad. In fact, this is pretty good! I like it. A couple of suggestions never go amiss though...

Firstly, following on from a previous suggestion, I would recommend putting the chapters into

spoilers

. Not only will it make it seem more organised on the page (I don't know, that might just be me), it will also make it a lot easier on someone who didn't read the whole thing through the first time to find the place they stopped. With spoilers you just click on the chapter, and it comes up, rather than scrolling through the whole page to find the place you stopped reading.

The second suggestion is more writing tipped.



That I would not really recommend doing. Remember, you are writing a story, not a news article. If you want to explain something, your best bet would be to describe it in the story as accurately as possible rather than try to explain it in brackets and out of character. It jars the reader away from the story (a bit like painting a picture and labelling the objects in it with sticky notes). Instead try to describe it in the story itself. I think you only have 2 instances of it there, but it's still something to watch out for.

As for the story itself, it's good. Not a lot for me to say there, apart from keep writing. This is definitely one of the nicer survival stories I've read. Anyway, well done, good job, and good luck.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, I highly recommend you guys should give me any feedback. I've fixed the problems and you can reply to me at anytime if you see anything else wrong. Very glad you like the story. I'll continue writing!
But one thing I won't change just because of my style is the layout of the story. I've seen other people put the chapters in separate spoilers but I don't like that. That's the the only thing I won't change. Other than that, I welcome all suggestions!
-Assassino

Awesome new banner!

Quote from OnceInALongTime

Awesome new banner!

Thanks Once!

Assassino may be the next... well... ME! His writing style is different but good. But like many others have said, put your chapters in spoilers. It's very hard to tell where to start when there's a new chapter if there's no spoilers. Plus, without them it looks like a big wall of text.

Quote from sc1020

Assassino may be the next... well... ME! His writing style is different but good. But like many others have said, put your chapters in spoilers. It's very hard to tell where to start when there's a new chapter if there's no spoilers. Plus, without them it looks like a big wall of text.

That's the point but if you guys are going to keep telling me this, I'll put them into spoiler chapters then...

What's your guy's thoughts on this? (I had to use Lara and Edward skins since I still don't have David and Destiny skins YET)

The Eternal Mine Prototype Wallpaper

EDIT: Don't click that link. It doesn't work so I'll just give you the picture itself.

Quote from marquini67

What's your guy's thoughts on this? (I had to use Lara and Edward skins since I still don't have David and Destiny skins YET)

The Eternal Mine Prototype Wallpaper

EDIT: Don't click that link. It doesn't work so I'll just give you the picture itself.

Looks very cool.

P.S. Check out my Short Stories Hub Thread!

Quote from sc1020

Looks very cool.

P.S. Check out my Short Stories Hub Thread!

I'm thinking about making a trailer, possibly. I think I'm getting the hang of moving the characters and scenery around.

I've added edited the chapters slightly and added some new stuff to the Index. It's not much but at least its something! I will have something out next week for sure.

After almost a month, I finally finished Chapter 7. I'll do some polishing later but for now, here it is. Hope you enjoy.

Well, well, very nice! I like your writing style and the story is pretty solid. It also helps a ton that you've got the little bits of lore and such prior to reading, which helped with understanding.

I hate to be that guy, though, but you need to work on your use of "you're" and "your." It helps to remember that "your" is posessive and "you're" means "you are."

Quote from dragontyron

Well, well, very nice! I like your writing style and the story is pretty solid. It also helps a ton that you've got the little bits of lore and such prior to reading, which helped with understanding.

I hate to be that guy, though, but you need to work on your use of "you're" and "your." It helps to remember that "your" is posessive and "you're" means "you are."

I'm that kind of person who HATES being reminded of their mistakes but it has to be said. Thanks for the feedback and I'm happy you enjoyed the story! *proceeds to click your banner link*

Love the story so far.

This is where the other chapters go!


Chapter 10: Before the Dawn
Coming Soon...