The adventure of The Eye Project and Into the Heavens continues with Shadows of Reality. Continuing from a cliffhanger conclusion, this fanfiction promises to be longer than the rest! But how does it end?
Length: Before you read, you may be wondering how long this story will even be. The expected length right now is 35 chapters, with 7 in each of the five books that are planned.
Progress: 9/35
Important: This story is on hold. Shadows of Reality returns on November 2, 2013.
Prologue: Journal of the Wicked
Very long ago, a world was created by the man Markus Persson. The people worshipped him as if he were a god. Of course, there was a man they thought of as the devil too. Many people chose to ignore him, so nobody ever mentioned him. The Devil-Man always sought to gain control, as he was trapped in the world, which was known as Minecraft.
One day, it nearly happened. A great battle happened with the Devil-Man. He brought a massive army of his servants, the corruptions. With each one dead, he would bring back another thousand. Persson's Minecraft form, Notch, gathered an army of the strongest warrior from every village. Persson could have defeated the Devil-Man from the real world, which is odd. It is unknown why he chose to do it in Minecraft.
This war, known as The Corrupted War, lasted for over 1,000 years in the world of Minecraft. But in the real world, barely a few days passed by. The war ended with a battle that lead to a duel between Notch and the Devil-Man. Notch eventually won the duel and singed the Devil-Man's face with his flaming sword. To hide his ruined face, the Devil-Man put on a red cloak.
The Devil-Man was forced into hiding. So he created his own dimension where he could rule. He called it the Nightmare Realm. To keep the forces of Notch away, he cursed the place so that anyone who entered would face their worst nightmare. This resulted into the dimension's name, the Nightmare Realm.
The Devil-Man also sent many of his corruptions to the Nether. He figured they would eventually gain control of that dimension and work their way up to the Overworld. Many Zombie Pigmen requested to ally with him. The Devil-Man agreed.
To keep the corruptions in form, the Devil-Man appointed one of his Zombie Pigman servants to Commander of Corruption. One day, the Devil-Man heard that somebody may be able to penetrate into the Nightmare Realm. It was someone from the land bewteen the stars of the Overworld.
The Devil-Man gave the Commander of Corruption, normally just called "The Commander," a special set of armor that would erase the memory of the wearer as long as they still had the armor on. The Devil-Man then sent the Commander to space to wipe the memory of the man from the stars. According to his source, the man's name was Starborn.
The Commander reported back that he had done his task and also killed someone named Shila. This was of no importance to the Devil-Man, of course. He had other plans. But they wouldn't take place for another 600 years or so. He had to wait for the right time.
The time was right during an era known as The Golden Age of Minecraft. It began after a hero who said his name was Nemesis said he had defeated the Wither, the guardian of the Nether. Randomly, a few days later, he vanished. It is said that one of the Great Balancing Spirits, Nethros, brought him back to life much later on.
About 30 years after The Golden Age began, a strange man appeared. He said he had no recollection of who he was. However, he did say he had just talked with Notch. The man didn't know that it wasn't the real Notch. It was one of the Devil-Man's servants in disguise.
All of this was leading up to the Devil-Man's plan. He was planning on obtaining a special concotion. The potion was brewed with a lock of one of Notch's beard hairs. It created the Infinity Elixir, the most powerful potion in the universe. It would last forever and make the user completely invincible. Notch referred to it as the Forbidden Elixir, however. He therefore locked it up in a dimension called the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The Devil-Man's plan was to open a gateway to the Labyrinth of Infinity. It was said that the Labyrinth couldn't be accessed by just striking flint against a portal frame. This dimension was opened with the spirit of heroes. The frame was to be made of emerald blocks, a small price for the Devil-Man.
The Golden Age was the perfect time for this plan because of the Devil-Man's journal. It would soon be known as the Journal of the Wicked. The Journal could contain the soul of any person as long as the Devil-Man or his corruptions killed that soul's host. With 100 souls of heroes, the Devil-Man can activate his portal and enter the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The last soul that the Journal must contain has to be the soul of the greatest hero. It is the soul of the hero who is destined to rival the Devil-Man. If this soul is captured, it is said that a high-pitched shriek will rattle all the worlds. The gateway will be opened and all hope will be lost. This shriek has never been heard, however.
It is said that the Devil-Man locked the Journal of the Wicked in the deepest levels of the Nightmare Realm. The only way to access it is to go straight under the Devil-Man's throne. If whoever enters is to survive the fall, they must still go through a number of trials to obtain the Journal.
The only way to destroy the book is to kill the one who created it. The Devil-Man must be defeated. All of his evil will be torn apart, along with the pages of the Journal. However, it is said that there is only one person who can truly kill the Devil-Man.
Hopefully this person will kill the Devil-Man before it's too late.
Book One: Wormholes, Herobrine, and Vareide
Twenty Years Earlier…
Perspective: Herobrine
The End. A small territory to rule. I never liked it much, but I was promised the entire dimension by my employer. He never named himself to me. The only thing I knew about him was that he always wore a red cloak that covered most of his face.
My task was to kill a group of six heroes on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, a pitiful task. However, one of my allies was to deal with some first. He was the Commander of the Corruption Army, so I didn't argue. Just yet.
But the Commander was defeated in battle. So it was my turn. I remembered four of these heroes. They had gone into the Internet when I told them not to. They didn't deserve to know its secrets.
"Well, well, well," I said, catching them by surprise, "I've finally found the ones who disobeyed me. It looks like they brought some friends." I summoned up a mass of lava to throw at them, but a sword punctured my side.
I fell to the ground. I took the sword out of my side and turned to see one of many who were dedicated to kill me. It was Tanksverylot, a skilled adventurer. I tossed his sword to him.
A conversation broke out between him and the six others. I was about to attack them again and catch them by surprise when one charged at me with an obsidian sword. I snapped my fingers, summoning an exact copy of the sword he had.
Tanks pushed the one with the sword out of the way. We both knew that this was his fight. He turned his sword into a scythe by tossing it into the air. He caught it and charged at me.
I pulled out an iron sword, also. I slashed at him, knocking him backwards into an enderman. He got back up, but not before I got out a bow. I quickly shot him and the bow already snapped. How did that happen?
I realized that my sword had broken, too. It was something about when he hit me. There was some sort of influence. He had more power than I expected.
He threw his scythe at me. It got me right in the chest. I began to feel very weak. I couldn't even sit up, let alone float. Tanks walked over to claim the weapon that defeated me.
"You may think you have won," I said, struggling to get up. I knew I was dying for real this time.
"But you will be my greatest trophy," I said, grabbing his arm, leeching the life out of him. His arm began to sag. It was now made of gold. I kept at it until he was on his knees. In just a few seconds, I had turned him into a golden statue.
I conjured up an outfit similar to his and raised a zombie from the dead and brought it into the End. I put the outfit onto it along with a fake head of me. I also gave him Tank's sword. For twenty years, it would replace him.
My rule had begun.
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23 hours before Present Day…
Perspective: Nemesis
"WHAT?" Chris yelled. I had just told him about his cousin, Angel, who had just died in battle. I had heard bad news was never easy to tell, and Chris wasn't lightening my load.
"She died while assisting the Valkyries against some creepers," Christopher said. Christopher was a kid from a small village but was sent by Aethros, one of the Great Balancing Spirits, to help me and some heroes at the Aether. Then me and him teamed up to trick the Sky Lord. Christopher was 12, while Chris was in his twenties. These were two different people.
"She tried to save the Valkyrie Queen," he continued, "She was too late. The creeper exploded and killed the Queen. By that point, Angel was surrounded by creepers."
Trying to help, I said, "We did manage to recover her scythe, if you want something to remember her by."
I handed him Angel's razor-blade scythe, her weapon before she received the Valkyrie Lance. I couldn't empathize with him because I had no family to lose. I was just a guy that Nethros brought back to life. But I had no memory of the time before.
Just then, one of the endermen spoke up. This one was Uvvi. We didn't really know much about her. We met her at the carnage of an old village. The body of the sun god had fallen down onto the village and she was sent to inspect the wreckage for any valuables.
"Do you hear that?" she asked. No one seemed to except the other enderman, Impedimos. His parents were killed for insubordination, so he fled the End and befriended Steve. Too bad Steve went missing.
"I hear it too," he said, "It sounds like…"
"The Ender Dragon," Impedimos and Uvvi said in unison.
"The Ender Dragon?" Torrent asked. Torrent was nearing his twenties. He had befriended squids a while back but never mentioned much else about his past.
"Yeah. It sounds like he's just saying the same word over and over," Uvvi said, "I can't make it out perfectly, but it sounds like 'revenge.'"
"It's like the spirit of the dragon is trying to tell all of the endermen about getting his revenge," Impedimos said, "I guess he forgot that there are some that aren't on his side."
"This doesn't sound good," Chris said, "We don't need more people dying."
If only they knew that I would be the one caught up with this "revenge."
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Back to the Present…
Perspective: Max
The next thing I knew, I was in a small room. I remembered lunging for the man in the hood. His name was Jacob. He claimed he was Steve's brother. Something was fishy about that.
I was in a shack with no windows, and it was very dim inside. It was made with spruce logs and oak planks. In one corner there was a table with a book on it. It was closed and signed, so it had been finished.
Seeing as there was no door, I figured I might as well read it. The table was a pressure plate on a fencepost, so it was very small. I took the book and opened it. It was only about 10 pages long, though there was no telling.
The book was entitled, Minecraft History: The Journal of the Wicked. I began to read. It was explaining about something called the corrupted war between Notch and someone referred to as the Devil-Man. His face was scorched, so he wore a red cloak.
As I kept reading, it began to mention someone coming into Minecraft with no memory. The man mentioned said that he had talked with Notch. I realized that this book was talking about Steve. Apparently, his conversation with Notch had all been a trick. So there had been a setup this whole time.
It went on to explain this potion called the Infinity Elixir. It was a mythical potion that was supposedly able to make the user invincible. According to the book, Notch locked it up in some place called the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The book said that the Devil-Man was after this potion, but he had to open it using the souls of heroes. He used a special book called the Journal of the Wicked. If he got 100 souls, he could open the gate to the Labyrinth of Infinity, where Notch hid the Infinity Elixir.
The last soul he needed had to be from the greatest of heroes. That hero was destined to rival the Devil-Man. The book didn't have anything important after that except or the fact that the time for the greatest hero hadn't happened.
I realized that I had stood up and begun pacing while I was reading. When I put the book back on the table, the pressure plate activated. In the corner of the room, a passage to a spiral staircase opened up.
When I took my hand off the table, the passage closed. I needed more of a weight. I took out an axe and chopped off a block from one of the walls. Behind it was stone. I was underground, it seemed.
I threw the block onto the pressure plate and the passage opened once more. I walked over and looked into the staircase. There was no one inside, thank goodness.
The staircase was made with the same blocks, using oak wood slabs. I went down and reached a chamber that was definitely just dug out by a miner.
In the room was the skeleton of someone's body. They were equipped in full diamond armor, so I put it on. Also in the room was a small chest. Inside was a book with a green cover. Had the leather been dyed?
There was no title or signature, so it hadn't been finished. Inside, the pages were blank. Then words began to appear, as if the book were writing itself.
I am the Book of Wisdom. I shall be your guidance.
"If you can guide me," I asked, "then how do I get out?"
Thou must think like the man with the pick.
So I was on my own.
Perspective: Max
The book's began to run off like ink that was still wet. Soon the words were entirely blotted. Then the ink began to fade. The next thing I knew, a knew message was being written.
There's been a change of plans. DUCK!
I did as the book instructed and held my sword up to block whatever attack was coming. The wall to my left exploded, obliterating the skeleton and half of my sword's blade. Well, that wasn't good. Dust flew everywhere and I could only see the silhouettes of my rescuers.
"Oh, man! Someone's alive down here, Sylvie," a man's voice said, "Thank goodness!"
"I still don't see how that's possible," a woman (who I presumed was Syvlie) said, "Cole, the house got caved in years ago. No one could have survived that long."
"Wait, he's wearing a crown. That's the Crown of Destiny, Sylvie!" Cole exclaimed, "He must have been warped here! This means that Max Ericson is still alive! I was told that he disappeared just yesterday!"
"Yeah, that's me," I said, "But where am I?"
The dust finally cleared, revealing a blacksmith holding a flint-and-steel and a scientist with long black hair.
"This is the City of the Ravine," Sylvie said, "There's no official name for it yet, but the city's still been around for seventy, maybe seventy-five, years. But how in Notch's name did you get here?"
"I don't really know how I got here," I said, "But I know what happened before I wound up here. I really don't want to explain here."
"I don't blame you," Cole said, "Let's take you to our place and get everything sorted out. I'm the village blacksmith, so I can afford a big place."
"Okay then," I said. They led me outside into a massive ravine over a lava river. The entire city was built on a bridge made of oak wood that stretched all across the ravine. All of the houses were on either side of the bridge, right out in the open. If the bridge were to be destroyed, the houses would fall with it.
Sylvie and Cole led me to a house made of cobblestone and spruce wood. How they managed to get all this wood from underground remained a mystery to me. The house was two stories and very big on the inside. They took me to a table with four chairs, so one remained empty when we all sat down.
"Okay, allow me to introduce myself," Sylvie said, "I am Dr. Sylvie Argentum and this is my husband Cole. He's the metalworker of the village."
"Basically what she said," Cole said, "We're both studying how to create a new type of metal using just silverfish. We have discovered that though silverfish are classified as arthropods, they actually have scales as if they were real fish."
"If we fuse enough scales together," Sylvie said, "we can actually create a silver ingot. It can be enchanted as well as gold, but it's as strong as diamond and as durable as iron."
"That's amazing," I said, "But where have you found enough silverfish to conduct the experiments?"
"Well, there's two reasons," Cole said, "The first is that silverfish can regenerate scales after 12 hours. The second is the fact that we're raising a family."
Cole then took a look at what had happened to my sword. He grabbed it from me and inspected it.
"I think I can fuse some silver into this and make it better than usual," Cole said, "No cost to you at all. Just let me head over to the smithy so I can work on it."
"Cole! We have a guest over! You can't just leave now," Sylvie said, "He probably hasn't eaten in days."
"Well, that isn't a lie," I said, "I'm starving. But I have some meat ready in my pocket."
I pulled out a cooked pork chop and quickly ate it. Cole gazed in awe.
"You found a pig?' Cole said, "I've never seen one before in my life. I've been living underground my whole life. Many cows and stuff have crawled down, but I've never seen a pig."
"Maybe if I can find my way back to Novacia, I can find some more pigs and bring one to you," I said, "Now what's this about fixing my sword?"
"Give me five minutes with your sword and it'll be better than you thought possible," Cole said. I handed him my sword and he headed out the door and across the bridge to the smithy.
Sure enough, he was back a few moments later with my new sword. The half of the blade that was blown off was now replaced with a shiny gray metal, similar to the color of silverfish.
"Well, that was fast," Sylvie said, "I knew you were fast, but you were gone for only a few minutes."
"Well, I've had the same job for twenty years," Cole said, "I'm kinda used to it."
The door burst open and Bruce stepped in. He was panting and he had his bow in his hand as if he had just used it.
"Finally! Max, you're alive! I need your help!" Bruce said, grabbing my arm and practically dragging me out the door.
"Nice meeting you," I said, then muttering, "too bad I was so rudely interrupted."
Bruce dragged me outside and over to a part of the bridge with no fence guards and pointed to the other side. Looking over, I noticed various forms of stone bricks.
"They've got Tanks in there," Bruce said, "Even worse, Herobrine's in there. I'm gonna go back in. You have to find the others."
"Bruce," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder, "You've officially gone nuts. You can't fight him alone."
"I can and I will," Bruce said, taking out an ender pearl and teleporting back over. I couldn't jump up there, so I was stuck here. Bruce had just gone on an impossible quest.
I wasn't too worried. There was always a happy ending to these things.
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Perspective: Steve
I opened the door, expecting to see the cold, heartless End I had seen before. But I opened the door to a village. It was still in the End and was much different from my village.
"Is this still the real End?" I asked Nemesis. I turned to see him stunned and pale as a ghost.
"I doubt it. Let's go check it out," he said. We walked into the streets. The village had been made of normal materials like that of the over world. Many endermen greeted me as we walked along.
Then I noticed something. I knew endermen couldn't see certain shades of purple due to the color of their eyes. One of those shades was used to build a large fortress on the other end of the…well…End.
"That place looks shady," Nemesis said, "We better go check it out. Earlier yesterday Uvvi said she heard something about the dragon getting revenge."
"This day just gets better and better," I mumbled.
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Perspective: Bruce
I realized that I may have made a huge mistake leaving Max behind. But I was going to save Tanks one way or another. I traveled back into the dim passageways of the stone-brick building.
I saw a white glimmer ahead. It was Herobrine's eyes. I nocked an arrow and quickly shot it. The arrow came back at me and flew over my shoulder. This was some sort of decoy.
"Behind you," Herobrine's voice said behind me. I took out my stone sword and turned around, ready to slice off his head. But he had already teleported. I turned around yet again to see him ready with a diamond sword.
He charged at me while I nocked an arrow. This would take an expert shot. I rolled to my right and shot the arrow. It hit Herobrine's hand and the sword flew out of his hand, getting stuck into the wall. Herobrine vanished yet again.
Then somebody grabbed my shoulder. It was Herobrine yet again. It started to feel heavy. Then the rest of my arm. I tried to look at my arm, but my neck wouldn't turn. But I still managed to get a small glimpse of what Herobrine had done to me.
He was turning me into gold.
Perspective: Steve
"We have to go in there," I said, "We may be the only hope for the End."
"Right behind you, partner," Nemesis said. We headed off the streets of the strange End city. This could be a diabolical plot to bring back the Ender Dragon. It didn't have to do with Jacob, because Jacob just wanted to kill everyone but me, him, Drios/Notch/Markus, and Herobrine into reality. He didn't want to kill himself in the process.
The fortress resembled one I had seen shortly after I met Bruce, where we met the Enderman King. However, since this was invisible to endermen, this didn't have to do with a reappearance of the Enderman King.
The strangest part was that there was no entrance. Nemesis took out a diamond pick and slammed it against the wall. He didn't even make a dent. Not even an obsidian tool could take this wall down.
Then I remembered: there was another way in. If this was like the one I had seen before, I just had to go around to the back.
"Nemesis, pillar up. There's an enhance at the back. Trust me," I said. He nodded and began to pillar up with cobble. I did the same. Some endermen looked at us in confusion. I ignored them, however.
We rushed around to the back, which was made of obsidian since it would easily blend in with the black sky. We took out our picks and began mining away. It took about three minutes to finally break through the wall. It was surprisingly thick, as if the obsidian had been compressed.
Nemesis jumped in first and I went in after him. Sure enough, the inside of the castle looked the same as it had 20 years ago. The only thing different was that there was no obsidian orb floating in the middle.
Instead, Herobrine was waiting for us.
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Perspective: Max
I walked away and headed back towards the Argentum residence when I noticed an enderman on the bridge. I had met my share of friendly endermen, so I tried not to let on that I would attack.
Then I realized who this was. It was Uvvi. She took my arm and teleported me into a purple building that was vaguely familiar. In there was Steve.
Also in the room was Herobrine.
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Just a few moments ago...
Perspective: Third Person
"Nemesis isn't back yet," Chris said, "Do you think he went missing, too?"
"I'm sure of it," a new voice said. No one had heard this voice speak in at least a week. Jack walked into the house covered in snow and ice.
"Jack! What happened to you?" Impedimos asked, clearly in shock of what had happened.
"So…so cold," Jack said, shivering, "Find Risugami. He's with Vareide."
Jack began to cough. He clearly had hypothermia. Uvvi vanished from the room and returned with a blanket and wrapped it around Jack.
"Who's Vareide?" Christopher asked.
"I can't tell you any more," Jack said, "I can't let him find out. He'll kill us."
"Who? What?" Impedimos asked, but Jack had already left the room. Chris followed, clearly confused about all of this.
"Okay, we need a plan to find Vareide," Impedimos said, "Me and Christopher will go. Uvvi, you and Chris keep and eye on Jack."
Before anyone could react, Impedimos had grabbed Christopher's arm and they teleported out of the room. Little did they know, they were actually right outside the house.
The two headed to the Novacian information desk, the source of information in Novacia.
"What do you know about Vareide?" Impedimos asked, very serious about the matter.
"Calm down there," Christopher said, "This isn't an interrogation."
"Hm… Vareide?" the man at the desk said, "Ah, yes. He created the popular Survival Games, attended by thousands each year. He gets VIP seating each year. The 100th annual Survival Games starts tomorrow, but the tickets are already sold out."
"Is there any other way in?" Impedimos asked.
"You'd have to get special permission from Vareide or the host," the man said, "I heard this year's host's name is… Cameron. Very young to be a host. Maybe his father had the same role before."
"Wait, did he just say Cameron?" Christopher asked, dumbfounded. Impedimos didn't say a word. He just took Christopher by the arm and rushed him away.
Perspective: Cameron
Well, I finally found another book. I better begin explaining what in the world happened out there, me being the host of the Survival Games and all. Oh, you didn't find out about that, did you? Spoiler alert, I guess.
Anyway, we better go back about a day or two. Well, a few days for you. Eight years for me. It'll explain itself.
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36 Hours Earlier…
Perspective: Cameron
Let's start from where I fainted. I think that's where I last left off. I think. Like I wrote earlier, it's been eight years. Eight years won't be the easiest thing to write, so I'll go over the main details of it. Important dialogue and all that good stuff. I'm 13, not an author.
Anyway, after I fainted, I woke up back in the Nightmare Realm. I was in a room made of gold blocks. On the wall was a white cryptic message. Here's what it said:
FQ'P JB. AOFLP. F'J TXQZEFKD VLS…
I continued down a hallway to an odd sort of throne room. I saw a switch at the back and pulled it. A piston retracted and I fell down a pit into some water.
"Welcome, Lord Derik," a computerized voice said, "Easy access to your journal can be obtained through eye scan. Other intruders will be eliminated."
I noticed a tiny screen on the wall. If it was going to eliminate me, I needed to destroy it. I punched a hole through it and swam. Sure enough, it exploded behind me. I guess it was some sort of defense mechanism.
Finally the water cleared into a room with three paths. Oh great. I was in a maze. A strange voice echoed throughout the room.
You're going to be here forever…
It was strange, but I knew that in mazes, you always had to move in the same direction. So I chose left. Finally, I hit a dead end, which even had a sign that read:
Did you really think that would work?
I also noticed a button on the wall. Then I realized that there were nine of them. This was supposed to be some sort of password. But I knew how these things worked. I punched each button five times and then the computer voice spoke.
"Activating wormhole in 3, 2, 1…"
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Eight Years Later (And in an Alternate Timeline)…
Perspective: Cameron
So that's how I need up in the future. The only thing I found different in the room was the fact that there was a ladder that led up to the surface. I climbed up it, but it took a while as I was pretty deep underground.
Once I got to the top, I met a guy in a white hoodie with a creeper face on the back.
"Who're you?" he asked.
"Who're you?" I asked.
"Well, I'm Star. Why do you look strangely familiar?"
"Maybe you met my dad. I've been told I look somewhat like him."
"Was your dad Max?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Then you must be… ah, man. I forgot already. It's been eight years since I last saw your dad."
"Well, my name's Cameron. And what are you doing just walking around when we're in hell?"
"I just completed my 'training' with someone I met a while back. It's a long story, and I don't think we have time. I have no idea what's going on back at the Overworld."
"The truth is, I don't know, either."
"Well, this is great."
"Why, yes, it is…" a new voice said. I whirled to the right to see Drios again. I thought he wouldn't bother to show up again after I beat him up riding a flying pig.
"What do you want? Last time we met each other, I took you down," I said.
"But that was eight years ago. Or did you accidentally activate my master's wormhole device so it's only been a few minutes for you?" Drios said.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"But I know everything. I sucked the powers of your friend… ah, what's his name? Ah, Risugami. I don't think you'll be seeing your dad for a while. Actually, your demise is near, so maybe you will. "
"I'd like to see you try," I said.
"Bad choice."
Perspective: Cameron
"What do you mean?" I asked, "You have no power now that I took the Crown of Chaos."
"Do you not know of what has happened over the last eight years?" Drios asked, "Well, I'll let you find out on your own. But I don't need the crown for power anymore."
Drios vanished before my eyes, appearing right behind me. I heard a bang and turned to see Star with two pistols. Drios teleported up onto a ledge. Star aimed the pistols down and propelled himself up onto the ledge. He took out a dagger and stabbed Drios, who backed up in pain.
"Di-did you think…" Drios muttered in pain, "That… this is… this is all I can do?"
Drios took a few more step backs and the wound suddenly sealed up. He leaped over Star's head down right in front of me. His limbs extended and he grew four more legs until he became a spider creature of sorts.
"I knew you were demented before," I said, "But this is just insane."
"Just see what I can do," Drios said. I couldn't see his head, so I didn't know where his mouth was. Drios raised a leg to crush me. Star fiddled with one pistol and fired it at the leg. It stayed where it was, as if he were stunned. It slowly lowered down, so I quickly got out of the way.
I noticed another ledge. I could gain some height if I climbed up on it. I quickly got ahold of the rocks and got up as fast as possible. Drios smashed a leg into the wall. The very rocks I had just climbed on seconds ago were now dust.
His leg was stuck in the wall (obviously Star had used his stun pistol again), so I took the chance when it came. I jumped onto it and ran along to his back. I took out my sword and stabbed it right inside. Drios tilted back and screeched. My fall was a painful one, but I managed to survive the landing.
Drios reverted back into his normal form. He turned to me, clearly angry. He took out a scythe emanating a black aura. He charged at me at an alarming rate. yet something small and quick hit him before he got to me.
More precisely, it hit his scythe. The bullet from Star's pistol had pierced its way through the scythe and it disappeared into black smoke. Star jumped down over to finish it.
"Next time," Drios said, "I won't be so easy."
With that, he vanished. After catching Star up to speed about what had happened to Drios last time. Right after, coincidentally, I heard a loud beeping. Something flashed over to my left. It looked to be some sort of communication device. I picked it up and pressed a button on it. A holographic image of Steve appeared.
"Cameron, if you're hearing this, most of the people who aided us in the battle with Drios earlier are now dead," Holo-Steve said, "Jack got what we thought was hypothermia but was clearly something much worse. You have to retrieve a cure-all potion. I heard Derik mention something about a wormhole. If you can use it in reverse, you can bring back the potion to Jack."
"Wait, wait, wait. Who's Derik?" I asked. However, this appeared to be recorded so there was no response.
"You have to do this, Cameron," Steve said, "The fate of the world rests in your hands."
Not again, I thought.
Perspective: Cameron
"Bring Star with you if you find him," Steve said, "There's a button in this cave that will open up Herobrine's hideout. If you can defeat him, you can get the potion. There's a time machine built into this machine, but can only be used once. Good luck out there."
"You hear that, Star?" I said, "You're coming with me."
"Uh... okay," Star said, "Let's find that button."
As it turned out, it's very hard to find a button in a giant purple cave system. Me and Star must've searched for hours but found nothing. Maybe Herobrine had destroyed it. Finally, after a really long time, we reached a lever.
"It's no button," Star said, "But it's close enough. Pull it."
I did so and the entire ground in the cave fell from under our feet. Right before we hit the ground, Star aimed his pistols down, hitting me as he shot up. We hardly took any fall damage. Inside where we had fell looked just like the cave we were in before.
"So we fell into the exact same place?" I asked.
"Looks like it," Star said. We looked around the new cave but found nothing. Then I realized: It was a puzzle. There was something in this room that was different than the other one.
"Look around for anything that looks different from the cave we were just in," I said, "We'll probably find the button there."
We kept searching, but found nothing still. It looked the exact same as the cave before, but without the lever this time. I took out my pickaxe and began breaking random blocks. Nothing still. I tried thinking really hard, but there was nothing.
"It's been under our noses the whole time," Star said, "The thing that's different about this cave is that there's no lever."
I mentally facepalmed myself and said, "Of course!"
I went over to the block where the lever would have been and broke it with my pickaxe. Sure enough, behind it was a button. I pushed it, heard a lot of pistons, and suddenly, a pathway had opened up.
"We did it!" Star said, "Be ready. Who knows how powerful Herobrine is now?"
I got out my sword and went in, Star following. Inside was simply a desk. Many books were scattered on top of it. There was also a drawer that was slightly opened. I went over and took the books.
They were all plans for battle strategy. They would be very useful later on. I looked in the drawer. Inside was a potion with a pink liquid inside. It wasn't a regeneration potion, though. It was labeled "Cure-All",
I felt something grab my arm. I looked around, but no one was there. Star looked confused by my strange reaction. Suddenly, a light blue beam of light shot out from very close to me and hit Star, knocking him back. I turned to the source of the firing. There was nothing there at first. Then Herobrine appeared. He was the one grabbing my arm.
"Hello," Herobrine said, "Herobrine is busy at the moment. Please call again later."
Suddenly, Herobrine's entire body grew. The cavern collapsed because the roof was too big. His arm had become just big enough for me to slip out of his grip. I rolled out the exit, dragging Star's wounded body with me.
Most of the cave had been destroyed. Herobrine was a giant now. Star finally regained his strength and began rapid-firing bullets at Herobrine's eyes. They weren't doing much.
Herobrine raised his fist to smash down. Me and Star rushed out of the way. The impact created a large ditch and caused a small tremor. I quickly ran back over to where his fist was and jumped onto his arm.
I was going to have to keep my balance. If Herobrine were to twist his arm just a little bit, I would fall to my death. I was so light compared to him, he didn't feel a thing. He must've thought I had fled.
Star saw me, however, and created a distraction by firing at Herobrine's other arm. Herobrine just watched with an evil grin on his face because the bullets did nothing.
After about two minutes, I had climbed all the way up Herobrine's arm. I knew his weak spot was his eyes, but it would take more than just a few bullets to kill him.
I jumped and got ahold of his ear. He did feel me and shook his head, trying to get whatever he though I was off. I managed to hold on and get on top of Herobrine's head.
I took out a diamond sword I had been given during my first fight with Drios. I grabbed onto one of his hairs and hung over the front of his head. I only had one shot at this, so I had to make it count.
I took aim and threw. The sword flew like an arrow from a fully-charged bow and got Herobrine right between the eyes. He screamed in pain and shook me off.
I took out a water bucket and let the water fall to the ground. I fell into it unharmed. Herobrine managed to grab the sword and get it out of his head.
"Looks like I'll just have to squash you," Herobrine said, "I was thinking of more painful methods of death, but this will have to do."
His arm was about to come down when an arrow that didn't look normal flew towards his hand. Suddenly Link came into the cave.
"You two okay?" Link asked, "Luckily, that wasn't the real Cure-All in the cave that Herobrine just destroyed. This is it. Get out of here if you can."
Link tossed us a potion with a white liquid. Star caught it. Link fended off Herobrine's attacks with his bow while I tried to push the right button on the machine Steve had left behind.
Finally I found the right one and pushed it. A beam shot out from the device and opened up a vortex under me and Star. Before we knew what happened, we were at someone's house.
Inside was an enderman and someone else I didn't recognize. I thought they would be simply confused, but they looked more of appalled.
"Star?" the man and the enderman said at the same time.
"Yeah. Long story. No time to explain," Star said, "Give this potion to Jack. The fate of the world may depend on him."
He tossed the potion to the enderman. She caught it and teleported into another room. I turned to the other man in the room.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Torrent. Me and your dad have met before," Torrent said.
Before I could reply, a door opened and Jack, someone I had seen before I went on my wacky quest to the Aether, came in. Behind him came Uvvi and a man with blonde hair and a red jacket.
"Okay, what's going on here?" the man in the red jacket asked.
"It's a weird story that involves time travel, Herobrine, and a bunch of people dying," I said, "I'm Cameron and you two are...?"
"I'm Chris," the man said, "and the enderman is Uvvi."
"Okay, so we all know each other now."
"Uvvi," Jack said, "this is important. Don't ask me why, but you have to take Max to the End. He's in a city inside a ravine. There's only one like it. Cameron, there's a job opening for Survival Games host. There's something fishy going on in the Survival Games and if you're host, you can investigate."
"Got it," I said.
"On it," Uvvi said, disappearing. But then she reappeared.
"Wait," Uvvi said, "I might as well give you a ride to the Survival Games arena. Grab my arm."
I did so and the next thing I knew, I was in front of an arena. A banner hung over the entrance that read Happy 100th, Survival Games!. Uvvi had already left, so I was on my own.
A man with large blue eyes who I somehow recognized as Vareide came out. He spoke with a strange accent.
"Hello! I'm sure you're here for the job opening!" Vareide said, "With the Survival Games starting tomorrow and no one else applying, I guess we'll have to take you. Come with me."
I followed him inside. However, the arena had nothing inside. Vareide took out a key and opened a locked door labeled Employees Only. Behind the door was only a button. Suddenly, we were both transported to another hallway.
"You probably recognize me, Vareide, because I've hosted every Survival Games," Vareide said as we walked down the hallway, "But this year we have to make an exception. I don't want to give away the surprise, though. I suppose I should introduce you to the head Gamemaker."
Vareide opened one of the doors and we went in. Many people sat in front of monitors that would be used the manipulate the actual Survival Games.
One of them got out of their chair and came to greet us. He looked somewhat similar to Steve, but yet was completely different.
"Hello. I'm Jacob, the head Gamemaker this year," Jacob said, "Oh! It's you, Cameron. I didn't recognize you because you look so much older."
"Oh, you two know each other!" Vareide said, "Splendid!"
"No, I don't think it is," I said.
Previously on Shadows of Reality...
With Link and Star's help, Cameron recovered a potion that has saved Jack's life. Jack has sent many people on different missions, including sending Cameron the the 100th annual Survival Games, where he learned that Jacob is Head Gamemaker.
Meanwhile, Max, Steve, and Nemesis must deal with Herobrine in the End. But who knows what Herobrine is planning this time?
---------
Perspective: Cameron
"What do you mean?" Vareide said, "Jacob has tons of experience with technology. He's the perfect choice!"
"Well, for starters," I said, "This guy tried to kill my dad and kidnap his best friend. So this guy is mentally insane."
"Forgive me, Vareide," Jacob said, "Cameron clearly has the wrong information. I have good intents, and I didn't try to do anything of the sort. For now, let me introduce him to these two other Gamemakers."
One person on either side of him turned around, revealing Troll and another one of his servants that I did not know the name of.
"Oy, you," I said, "Wouldn't you want to blow this place up or something? You seem to be very fond of TNT."
"Maybe after the games," Troll said, "I am quite fond of being a Gamemaker."
"Well, we better rest up," Vareide said, "We've got a big day tomorrow!"
------------
In the End...
Perspective: Steve
"What's going on?" I asked, "Why are you here, Max? What are you planning, Herobrine?"
"Well, Uvvi took m-" Max said, but was cut off.
"That won't matter," Herobrine said, "Because I'm about to destroy all three of you. But I was told to capture Max so the boss could have the pleasure of killing him himself."
I nodded at Nemesis. We already had a plan. I took out an enderpearl and warped over Herobrine's shoulder. He turned towards me. Max and Nemesis switched places. Nemesis transformed into Max.
Herobrine pulled out a diamond sword just like mine and we got into an intense duel. Finally, he knocked the sword out of my hand. But Nemesis had just told the plan to Max.
"Hey ugly!" Nemesis/Max said, "I'm the one you want!"
"Nope! It's me," Max said, "He's trying to save me."
"No. He's doing that for me."
Herobrine was conflicted, but easily figured out what to do. He raised one hand and to dark beams shot out with hands on the front towards the faces of both Max and Nemesis. One hand pulled the Magic Mask off of Nemesis.
The other hand had grabbed Max and lifted him into the air and carried him back to Herobrine.
"Oh, sorry," Herobrine said, "Is this yours?"
Someone grabbed Herobrine's hand. The black hand faded. Max landed on the ground hard, but was mostly okay.
"Sorry about interrupting your fight," Vareide said, "But you four are all tributes in this year's Survival Games! What fun! Follow me back to our portal."
"Why should I listen to you?" Herobrine asked.
"Because of this," Vareide replied. He raised an arm. He had a metal glove on with some machinery built into it. A beam of energy shot out, stunning Herobrine.
"Now, what was that about not coming?"
"But how?" Herobrine asked, "How can you do that?"
"Simple," Vareide said, "Using the same technology as command blocks, I have programmed this glove to counter the abilities of its target. It's the perfect weapon. Of course, I don't want to kill you in this case."
"I'll come," Herobrine said, "But don't expect me to agree with you."
------------
At the Survival Games Arena…
Perspective: Max
I forgot about my book, so I opened it again.
Trust me. Go with it.
Me, Steve, Nemesis, and Herobrine followed Vareide down a hallway. He led us to our rooms. The next morning, we would be killing each other. I tried to keep that thought out of my head.
----------
Perspective: Cameron
At some time in the middle of that night, I heard voices. I got out of the double-bed and looked around. I couldn't see anyone with the moonlight. I went over and flipped a lever. A redstone lamp turned on, illuminating the room.
Still, no one was there. The room was very small, consisting of only the bed and a desk. The only other thing in the room was a closet. I opened it up, but no one was inside. I went outside of the room into the dark hallways. Something told me that there would be guards. I would have to keep hidden.
The voices came from the next room. I crouched down and put my ear against the door. i recognized Vareide's voice and someone else's voice.
"I'm telling you," the unknown voice said, "If you don't get two more tributes, we're shutting it down. You have exactly 1 hour to find more tributes.'
"You can't be serious!" Vareide said, "Where am I supposed to find two tributes in the middle of the night?"
"You tell me," the other voice said, "I'll be back in one hour to see who you've found."
I heard the doorknob click. I turned around and rolled forward. The door opened behind me but it opened in a way so I wouldn't be seen still. I quickly turned a corner, but it was a dead end. I felt around and my hand hit a button.
I was warped to outside. Christopher and an enderman stood outside. Christopher was confused at the sight of me.
"Cameron?" Christopher whispered, "Is that you?"
"Yeah," I said, "There's no tickets left, if that's what you're here for. But, lucky for you, Vareide needs two more tributes or the games will get shut down. Come with me."
I took them over to the room where Vareide had been talking with the other man. Vareide look stunned to see me at that time of night.
"Cameron?" Vareide asked, "What are you here for?"
"What was that about needing two more tributes," I asked. Book Two: The Survival Games
" ">
Previously on Shadows of Reality...
Our heroes arrived at the Survival Games Arena, but most tributes haven't been revealed. As a suspicious plot in the Survival Games thickens, many of our heroes may fall before they can find it out…
--------------
The Next Morning...
Perspective: Omnipresent View (Fancy terms for Third Person)
A podium rose in the middle of the massive coliseum in which the Survival Games was going to be held. Cameron had perfectly memorized his lines as host. It was the perfect disguise. Cameron stood on the podium, ready to go.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cameron said into the microphone, "Welcome to the 100th Annual Survival Games! As it is the 4th Quarter Quell, we have many surprises to throw at you! Some of our very staff will be competing this year including Head Gamemaker Jacob and Gamemakers Kaslar, Troll, and Risugami!
"Also this year, we've changed the rules tremendously for this game only! Instead of simply finding chests and making their own tools, our tributes will literally be playing as if they're surviving on their own! Of course, we have still hidden many chests! As in every year, our tributes won't actually die when killed. Using command blocks, they will simply be teleported into the spectator area.
"But that's not all! If you've noticed, you don't see any capsules for the tributes. That's because this isn't the real arena! This is!"
Cameron pushed a button on a remote and everyone was teleported and flying above a massive forest. In the center were 24 mechanical podiums and in the center of the ring they made was many chests contained with various helpful items. Cameron flew right above this spot, still holding the microphone.
"And here come the tributes!" Cameron said. Which each one named, the specified tribute rose out of his or her capsule.
"Here comes Steve, Max, Bruce, Tanksverylot, Star, Dilikau, Impedimos, Christopher, a different person referred to as Chris. Here comes Jack, Uvvi, Link, Nemesis, Gamemaker Risugami, Ghirahim, Demise, Drios, Head Gamemaker Jacob, Gamemaker Kaslar, Gamemaker Troll, The Deadly Herobrine, Nightmist, Spiadar'stai, and for our final tribute…"
Smoke blew out of the final capsule, concealing the tribute inside. Cameron had purposely created a suspenseful pause to reveal the final tribute. It was a shock to everyone in the arena.
"The very creator of the Survival Games, Vareide!" Cameron shouted, "Tributes, your goal is to act as if you were surviving on your own, but you also have to eliminate the other tributes. They won't actually die, of course. Alliances are permitted, but only one tribute can remain! The games begin in (help me out here, crowd) 5…" "4!" "3!" "2!" "1!" "0!" "Let the games begin!"
The capsules were opened and the tributes rushed in, punching each other to get to the chests. Even close friends such as Link and Nemesis were nearly killing each other to get whatever was in the chest. Even if it was feathers or bits of wheat.
Variede climbed on the head of Steve and jumped up to a chest in the very middle of all of the other chests. He opened it and pulled out an iron chestplate, 2 pieces of bread, and an iron sword. He jumped down, sticking his sword into Chris. A lightning strike was heard as Chris vanished into white particles. He picked up what Chris had left behind. Vareide slipped himself into some chain pants.
Max had managed to rush away and get to a tree. He managed to punch it down, looking behind him every few seconds. He placed down a crafting table and made a shovel, sword, and pickaxe (all made of wood, of course).
Poor Steve, dazed and confused from begin climbed on, was nearly killed. But he grabbed the sword from his attacker, Tanksverylot, and killed him. Another lightning strike was heard. Steve finally came to his senses and picked up what Tanks had created, which was a bow and quiver. It only had 14 arrows, but it was useful nonetheless.
This was going to be a deadly game.
Perspective: Omnipresent
Steve rushed through the trees as fast as he could. He didn't care if no one was chasing him. He finally found a chest hanging from a branch. He opened it and pulled out an iron axe and three apples. He sat against the trunk, eating one of them.
"You're running, too?" A voice asked, "Don't be scared. It's me, Max. I got some stuff, too. I figure we find another chest and set up camp. Next morning, we start mining and cover up the tracks."
"Sounds good," Steve said, getting up, "Want an apple?"
Steve tossed it over to where Max's voice had come from. Max stepped in between the trees and caught it. Just at that moment, lightning struck again.
"Another one dead," Max said, "That leaves 21. Don't know how Nemesis is, but he's pretty thrashed up. I saw Risugami for a bit. He said he'd come for me later."
"That doesn't sound good," Steve said, "We better get started."
Link rushed into a cave and managed to make sure no one followed him. He didn't have his sword or shield;They had been confiscated. He found a dungeon. He saw two chests and ran for them. He ignored the small holes at the bottom of the walls. He triggered the tripwire and that was the end of that. There was a crater where Link had once stood.
Vareide dug his way in and looted the two chests. He pillared his way up, covering the tracks. Vareide already had a chain helmet, pants, and boots along with an iron chestplate. He was deadly.
Troll had found his way into a similar dungeon. He took the TNT out of the traps and looted the chests, getting more TNT along with a fire charge. The odds were ever in his favor.
Kaslar didn't need good things. He was allowed to keep his spellbooks. He could have zombies do the fighting for him. Behind him, he heard rustling. Bruce descended from the trees with a drop kick, stealing many of Kaslar's items and hurrying away. Kaslar summoned a zombie, but was too late.
Bruce then found himself with Risugami. Risugami had decent armor but Bruce had the weapons. Both of them had the same idea.
"Truce?"
Herobrine was very confident. He didn't need good gear to win. He was invincible. Most of his powers had been disabled by Vareide. But there were some that were part of his very soul...
Star was allowed to keep his pistols but not his bullets. He would have to make them. It had been a while since Dilikau had given these to him. Star managed to smuggle through a few chests. Then he hit the jackpot: three iron ingots. Just one could give him 10 bullets. He used the others to make a sword.
Just then Dilikau came in. Star had always wondered how Dilikau had come here from the future since the games began.
"Oh, hey Star," Dilikau said, "I followed you through the portal. Anyways, I say we should work together."
"Sounds like a plan," Star replied. Drios, who had been listening through the trees, gulped. He was alone. Book Three: Finale
Not yet!
Epilogue: My Name Is Rift
Not yet!
Chapter Nine—Alliances are Forged
Chapter Ten—Nightmist Returns
Chapter Eleven—The First Night
Chapter Twelve—Meanwhile...
Chapter Thirteen—Deathmatch Impending
Chapter Fourteen—"And the Winner Is..."
Normal World (from highest to lowest):
Aether:
Land of the Sky, ruled by a mysterious man intent on conquering our world. He will only be satisfied if we are either destroyed or under his command. The Aether is often referred to as the Uncharted Realm, as no one has ever gone in before (until now).
Overworld:
The land of humans. It is quite peaceful in the day, but five enemies appear at night. One comes from a mysterious dimension known as the End (see Lands Beyond). While many humans aren't that smart, some have discovered ways to access other dimensions. This place is where our protagonists call home. But will it be destroyed?
Nether:
The most dangerous region of the Normal World according to most people of the Overworld. This place is made up of a weak substance called Netherrack. Five mobs have been found here. Lava and fire are also abundant here. Some say that the evil Wither was born here, as its skeletal servants still roam the Nether.
Lands Beyond (no specific order):
End:
The single island that floats in an unknown part of space (as it seems). It is inhabited by strange creatures called Endermen who often teleport to the Overworld and bring blocks back to the End. No one knows its purpose, but it could be diabolical. Twenty years ago, the End's ruler was defeated by the valiant hero Steve.
Internet:
The mysterious realm that connects Minecraft to billions of other worlds. Not much is known about it, even by the people who have entered.
Human World:
I'm sorry, but nobody has actually been there. I can't tell you. Not yet. Keep reading, my friends.
Nightmare Realm:
When entered, anyone must face their worst nightmare. It is best to stay away, as an evil mastermind resides here.
Did you know...
...I never even planned on making a sequel to The Eye Project in the first place? But my inspiration blossomed into two new fanfictions.
...Jacob, Nemesis, and Risugami all weren't planned characters?
...Cameron is the last of the main protagonists in the fanfiction to be shown for the first time?
...that if Herobrine or Drios were ever revealed to have a son or daughter never mentioned before, it would make Steve an uncle?
Thank you, good sir. I appreciate it. It took me about two hours to perfectly word that prologue. It took many changes and edits to make it perfect. It was originally going to be Max's journal, but I turned it into something completely different
Do you think you could finally put up a link to Before the Eye Project?
Oh, of course. Silly me! I also am planning on doing a "Weekly Spotlight" on fanfics to help them get popularity. Yours will have a perma-spotlight. I'm deciding on which fanfic to do for this week.
Is Wooden House the first Weekly Spotlight? I see that this was posted, in my 'clock', on Sunday. Today, it is Saturday, in my 'clock', and there has only been the Wooden House on Spotlight. Is it the only one so far that has been on your spotlight? I'm just wondering.
Is Wooden House the first Weekly Spotlight? I see that this was posted, in my 'clock', on Sunday. Today, it is Saturday, in my 'clock', and there has only been the Wooden House on Spotlight. Is it the only one so far that has been on your spotlight? I'm just wondering.
Yes, it is the first weekly spotlight. I appointed it on Wednesday, I believe.
Really, not a lot to say about this apart from the fact that it is very, very good, and that I very much enjoyed reading it so far. I have to say, being a reader from way back in the series, from The Eye Project, your writing has improved and developed quite a lot. Well done. This just keeps getting better and better .
Thanks. This means a lot coming from a writer as popular as you. Wait, have I said that already? I can't remember
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Length: Before you read, you may be wondering how long this story will even be. The expected length right now is 35 chapters, with 7 in each of the five books that are planned.
Progress: 9/35
Important: This story is on hold. Shadows of Reality returns on November 2, 2013.
Prologue: Journal of the Wicked
One day, it nearly happened. A great battle happened with the Devil-Man. He brought a massive army of his servants, the corruptions. With each one dead, he would bring back another thousand. Persson's Minecraft form, Notch, gathered an army of the strongest warrior from every village. Persson could have defeated the Devil-Man from the real world, which is odd. It is unknown why he chose to do it in Minecraft.
This war, known as The Corrupted War, lasted for over 1,000 years in the world of Minecraft. But in the real world, barely a few days passed by. The war ended with a battle that lead to a duel between Notch and the Devil-Man. Notch eventually won the duel and singed the Devil-Man's face with his flaming sword. To hide his ruined face, the Devil-Man put on a red cloak.
The Devil-Man was forced into hiding. So he created his own dimension where he could rule. He called it the Nightmare Realm. To keep the forces of Notch away, he cursed the place so that anyone who entered would face their worst nightmare. This resulted into the dimension's name, the Nightmare Realm.
The Devil-Man also sent many of his corruptions to the Nether. He figured they would eventually gain control of that dimension and work their way up to the Overworld. Many Zombie Pigmen requested to ally with him. The Devil-Man agreed.
To keep the corruptions in form, the Devil-Man appointed one of his Zombie Pigman servants to Commander of Corruption. One day, the Devil-Man heard that somebody may be able to penetrate into the Nightmare Realm. It was someone from the land bewteen the stars of the Overworld.
The Devil-Man gave the Commander of Corruption, normally just called "The Commander," a special set of armor that would erase the memory of the wearer as long as they still had the armor on. The Devil-Man then sent the Commander to space to wipe the memory of the man from the stars. According to his source, the man's name was Starborn.
The Commander reported back that he had done his task and also killed someone named Shila. This was of no importance to the Devil-Man, of course. He had other plans. But they wouldn't take place for another 600 years or so. He had to wait for the right time.
The time was right during an era known as The Golden Age of Minecraft. It began after a hero who said his name was Nemesis said he had defeated the Wither, the guardian of the Nether. Randomly, a few days later, he vanished. It is said that one of the Great Balancing Spirits, Nethros, brought him back to life much later on.
About 30 years after The Golden Age began, a strange man appeared. He said he had no recollection of who he was. However, he did say he had just talked with Notch. The man didn't know that it wasn't the real Notch. It was one of the Devil-Man's servants in disguise.
All of this was leading up to the Devil-Man's plan. He was planning on obtaining a special concotion. The potion was brewed with a lock of one of Notch's beard hairs. It created the Infinity Elixir, the most powerful potion in the universe. It would last forever and make the user completely invincible. Notch referred to it as the Forbidden Elixir, however. He therefore locked it up in a dimension called the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The Devil-Man's plan was to open a gateway to the Labyrinth of Infinity. It was said that the Labyrinth couldn't be accessed by just striking flint against a portal frame. This dimension was opened with the spirit of heroes. The frame was to be made of emerald blocks, a small price for the Devil-Man.
The Golden Age was the perfect time for this plan because of the Devil-Man's journal. It would soon be known as the Journal of the Wicked. The Journal could contain the soul of any person as long as the Devil-Man or his corruptions killed that soul's host. With 100 souls of heroes, the Devil-Man can activate his portal and enter the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The last soul that the Journal must contain has to be the soul of the greatest hero. It is the soul of the hero who is destined to rival the Devil-Man. If this soul is captured, it is said that a high-pitched shriek will rattle all the worlds. The gateway will be opened and all hope will be lost. This shriek has never been heard, however.
It is said that the Devil-Man locked the Journal of the Wicked in the deepest levels of the Nightmare Realm. The only way to access it is to go straight under the Devil-Man's throne. If whoever enters is to survive the fall, they must still go through a number of trials to obtain the Journal.
The only way to destroy the book is to kill the one who created it. The Devil-Man must be defeated. All of his evil will be torn apart, along with the pages of the Journal. However, it is said that there is only one person who can truly kill the Devil-Man.
Hopefully this person will kill the Devil-Man before it's too late.
Perspective: Herobrine
The End. A small territory to rule. I never liked it much, but I was promised the entire dimension by my employer. He never named himself to me. The only thing I knew about him was that he always wore a red cloak that covered most of his face.
My task was to kill a group of six heroes on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, a pitiful task. However, one of my allies was to deal with some first. He was the Commander of the Corruption Army, so I didn't argue. Just yet.
But the Commander was defeated in battle. So it was my turn. I remembered four of these heroes. They had gone into the Internet when I told them not to. They didn't deserve to know its secrets.
"Well, well, well," I said, catching them by surprise, "I've finally found the ones who disobeyed me. It looks like they brought some friends." I summoned up a mass of lava to throw at them, but a sword punctured my side.
I fell to the ground. I took the sword out of my side and turned to see one of many who were dedicated to kill me. It was Tanksverylot, a skilled adventurer. I tossed his sword to him.
A conversation broke out between him and the six others. I was about to attack them again and catch them by surprise when one charged at me with an obsidian sword. I snapped my fingers, summoning an exact copy of the sword he had.
Tanks pushed the one with the sword out of the way. We both knew that this was his fight. He turned his sword into a scythe by tossing it into the air. He caught it and charged at me.
I pulled out an iron sword, also. I slashed at him, knocking him backwards into an enderman. He got back up, but not before I got out a bow. I quickly shot him and the bow already snapped. How did that happen?
I realized that my sword had broken, too. It was something about when he hit me. There was some sort of influence. He had more power than I expected.
He threw his scythe at me. It got me right in the chest. I began to feel very weak. I couldn't even sit up, let alone float. Tanks walked over to claim the weapon that defeated me.
"You may think you have won," I said, struggling to get up. I knew I was dying for real this time.
"But you will be my greatest trophy," I said, grabbing his arm, leeching the life out of him. His arm began to sag. It was now made of gold. I kept at it until he was on his knees. In just a few seconds, I had turned him into a golden statue.
I conjured up an outfit similar to his and raised a zombie from the dead and brought it into the End. I put the outfit onto it along with a fake head of me. I also gave him Tank's sword. For twenty years, it would replace him.
My rule had begun.
-----------
23 hours before Present Day…
Perspective: Nemesis
"WHAT?" Chris yelled. I had just told him about his cousin, Angel, who had just died in battle. I had heard bad news was never easy to tell, and Chris wasn't lightening my load.
"She died while assisting the Valkyries against some creepers," Christopher said. Christopher was a kid from a small village but was sent by Aethros, one of the Great Balancing Spirits, to help me and some heroes at the Aether. Then me and him teamed up to trick the Sky Lord. Christopher was 12, while Chris was in his twenties. These were two different people.
"She tried to save the Valkyrie Queen," he continued, "She was too late. The creeper exploded and killed the Queen. By that point, Angel was surrounded by creepers."
Trying to help, I said, "We did manage to recover her scythe, if you want something to remember her by."
I handed him Angel's razor-blade scythe, her weapon before she received the Valkyrie Lance. I couldn't empathize with him because I had no family to lose. I was just a guy that Nethros brought back to life. But I had no memory of the time before.
Just then, one of the endermen spoke up. This one was Uvvi. We didn't really know much about her. We met her at the carnage of an old village. The body of the sun god had fallen down onto the village and she was sent to inspect the wreckage for any valuables.
"Do you hear that?" she asked. No one seemed to except the other enderman, Impedimos. His parents were killed for insubordination, so he fled the End and befriended Steve. Too bad Steve went missing.
"I hear it too," he said, "It sounds like…"
"The Ender Dragon," Impedimos and Uvvi said in unison.
"The Ender Dragon?" Torrent asked. Torrent was nearing his twenties. He had befriended squids a while back but never mentioned much else about his past.
"Yeah. It sounds like he's just saying the same word over and over," Uvvi said, "I can't make it out perfectly, but it sounds like 'revenge.'"
"It's like the spirit of the dragon is trying to tell all of the endermen about getting his revenge," Impedimos said, "I guess he forgot that there are some that aren't on his side."
"This doesn't sound good," Chris said, "We don't need more people dying."
If only they knew that I would be the one caught up with this "revenge."
----------
Back to the Present…
Perspective: Max
The next thing I knew, I was in a small room. I remembered lunging for the man in the hood. His name was Jacob. He claimed he was Steve's brother. Something was fishy about that.
I was in a shack with no windows, and it was very dim inside. It was made with spruce logs and oak planks. In one corner there was a table with a book on it. It was closed and signed, so it had been finished.
Seeing as there was no door, I figured I might as well read it. The table was a pressure plate on a fencepost, so it was very small. I took the book and opened it. It was only about 10 pages long, though there was no telling.
The book was entitled, Minecraft History: The Journal of the Wicked. I began to read. It was explaining about something called the corrupted war between Notch and someone referred to as the Devil-Man. His face was scorched, so he wore a red cloak.
As I kept reading, it began to mention someone coming into Minecraft with no memory. The man mentioned said that he had talked with Notch. I realized that this book was talking about Steve. Apparently, his conversation with Notch had all been a trick. So there had been a setup this whole time.
It went on to explain this potion called the Infinity Elixir. It was a mythical potion that was supposedly able to make the user invincible. According to the book, Notch locked it up in some place called the Labyrinth of Infinity.
The book said that the Devil-Man was after this potion, but he had to open it using the souls of heroes. He used a special book called the Journal of the Wicked. If he got 100 souls, he could open the gate to the Labyrinth of Infinity, where Notch hid the Infinity Elixir.
The last soul he needed had to be from the greatest of heroes. That hero was destined to rival the Devil-Man. The book didn't have anything important after that except or the fact that the time for the greatest hero hadn't happened.
I realized that I had stood up and begun pacing while I was reading. When I put the book back on the table, the pressure plate activated. In the corner of the room, a passage to a spiral staircase opened up.
When I took my hand off the table, the passage closed. I needed more of a weight. I took out an axe and chopped off a block from one of the walls. Behind it was stone. I was underground, it seemed.
I threw the block onto the pressure plate and the passage opened once more. I walked over and looked into the staircase. There was no one inside, thank goodness.
The staircase was made with the same blocks, using oak wood slabs. I went down and reached a chamber that was definitely just dug out by a miner.
In the room was the skeleton of someone's body. They were equipped in full diamond armor, so I put it on. Also in the room was a small chest. Inside was a book with a green cover. Had the leather been dyed?
There was no title or signature, so it hadn't been finished. Inside, the pages were blank. Then words began to appear, as if the book were writing itself.
I am the Book of Wisdom. I shall be your guidance.
"If you can guide me," I asked, "then how do I get out?"
Thou must think like the man with the pick.
So I was on my own.
Perspective: Max
The book's began to run off like ink that was still wet. Soon the words were entirely blotted. Then the ink began to fade. The next thing I knew, a knew message was being written.
There's been a change of plans. DUCK!
I did as the book instructed and held my sword up to block whatever attack was coming. The wall to my left exploded, obliterating the skeleton and half of my sword's blade. Well, that wasn't good. Dust flew everywhere and I could only see the silhouettes of my rescuers.
"Oh, man! Someone's alive down here, Sylvie," a man's voice said, "Thank goodness!"
"I still don't see how that's possible," a woman (who I presumed was Syvlie) said, "Cole, the house got caved in years ago. No one could have survived that long."
"Wait, he's wearing a crown. That's the Crown of Destiny, Sylvie!" Cole exclaimed, "He must have been warped here! This means that Max Ericson is still alive! I was told that he disappeared just yesterday!"
"Yeah, that's me," I said, "But where am I?"
The dust finally cleared, revealing a blacksmith holding a flint-and-steel and a scientist with long black hair.
"This is the City of the Ravine," Sylvie said, "There's no official name for it yet, but the city's still been around for seventy, maybe seventy-five, years. But how in Notch's name did you get here?"
"I don't really know how I got here," I said, "But I know what happened before I wound up here. I really don't want to explain here."
"I don't blame you," Cole said, "Let's take you to our place and get everything sorted out. I'm the village blacksmith, so I can afford a big place."
"Okay then," I said. They led me outside into a massive ravine over a lava river. The entire city was built on a bridge made of oak wood that stretched all across the ravine. All of the houses were on either side of the bridge, right out in the open. If the bridge were to be destroyed, the houses would fall with it.
Sylvie and Cole led me to a house made of cobblestone and spruce wood. How they managed to get all this wood from underground remained a mystery to me. The house was two stories and very big on the inside. They took me to a table with four chairs, so one remained empty when we all sat down.
"Okay, allow me to introduce myself," Sylvie said, "I am Dr. Sylvie Argentum and this is my husband Cole. He's the metalworker of the village."
"Basically what she said," Cole said, "We're both studying how to create a new type of metal using just silverfish. We have discovered that though silverfish are classified as arthropods, they actually have scales as if they were real fish."
"If we fuse enough scales together," Sylvie said, "we can actually create a silver ingot. It can be enchanted as well as gold, but it's as strong as diamond and as durable as iron."
"That's amazing," I said, "But where have you found enough silverfish to conduct the experiments?"
"Well, there's two reasons," Cole said, "The first is that silverfish can regenerate scales after 12 hours. The second is the fact that we're raising a family."
Cole then took a look at what had happened to my sword. He grabbed it from me and inspected it.
"I think I can fuse some silver into this and make it better than usual," Cole said, "No cost to you at all. Just let me head over to the smithy so I can work on it."
"Cole! We have a guest over! You can't just leave now," Sylvie said, "He probably hasn't eaten in days."
"Well, that isn't a lie," I said, "I'm starving. But I have some meat ready in my pocket."
I pulled out a cooked pork chop and quickly ate it. Cole gazed in awe.
"You found a pig?' Cole said, "I've never seen one before in my life. I've been living underground my whole life. Many cows and stuff have crawled down, but I've never seen a pig."
"Maybe if I can find my way back to Novacia, I can find some more pigs and bring one to you," I said, "Now what's this about fixing my sword?"
"Give me five minutes with your sword and it'll be better than you thought possible," Cole said. I handed him my sword and he headed out the door and across the bridge to the smithy.
Sure enough, he was back a few moments later with my new sword. The half of the blade that was blown off was now replaced with a shiny gray metal, similar to the color of silverfish.
"Well, that was fast," Sylvie said, "I knew you were fast, but you were gone for only a few minutes."
"Well, I've had the same job for twenty years," Cole said, "I'm kinda used to it."
The door burst open and Bruce stepped in. He was panting and he had his bow in his hand as if he had just used it.
"Finally! Max, you're alive! I need your help!" Bruce said, grabbing my arm and practically dragging me out the door.
"Nice meeting you," I said, then muttering, "too bad I was so rudely interrupted."
Bruce dragged me outside and over to a part of the bridge with no fence guards and pointed to the other side. Looking over, I noticed various forms of stone bricks.
"They've got Tanks in there," Bruce said, "Even worse, Herobrine's in there. I'm gonna go back in. You have to find the others."
"Bruce," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder, "You've officially gone nuts. You can't fight him alone."
"I can and I will," Bruce said, taking out an ender pearl and teleporting back over. I couldn't jump up there, so I was stuck here. Bruce had just gone on an impossible quest.
I wasn't too worried. There was always a happy ending to these things.
----------
Perspective: Steve
I opened the door, expecting to see the cold, heartless End I had seen before. But I opened the door to a village. It was still in the End and was much different from my village.
"Is this still the real End?" I asked Nemesis. I turned to see him stunned and pale as a ghost.
"I doubt it. Let's go check it out," he said. We walked into the streets. The village had been made of normal materials like that of the over world. Many endermen greeted me as we walked along.
Then I noticed something. I knew endermen couldn't see certain shades of purple due to the color of their eyes. One of those shades was used to build a large fortress on the other end of the…well…End.
"That place looks shady," Nemesis said, "We better go check it out. Earlier yesterday Uvvi said she heard something about the dragon getting revenge."
"This day just gets better and better," I mumbled.
---------
Perspective: Bruce
I realized that I may have made a huge mistake leaving Max behind. But I was going to save Tanks one way or another. I traveled back into the dim passageways of the stone-brick building.
I saw a white glimmer ahead. It was Herobrine's eyes. I nocked an arrow and quickly shot it. The arrow came back at me and flew over my shoulder. This was some sort of decoy.
"Behind you," Herobrine's voice said behind me. I took out my stone sword and turned around, ready to slice off his head. But he had already teleported. I turned around yet again to see him ready with a diamond sword.
He charged at me while I nocked an arrow. This would take an expert shot. I rolled to my right and shot the arrow. It hit Herobrine's hand and the sword flew out of his hand, getting stuck into the wall. Herobrine vanished yet again.
Then somebody grabbed my shoulder. It was Herobrine yet again. It started to feel heavy. Then the rest of my arm. I tried to look at my arm, but my neck wouldn't turn. But I still managed to get a small glimpse of what Herobrine had done to me.
He was turning me into gold.
"We have to go in there," I said, "We may be the only hope for the End."
"Right behind you, partner," Nemesis said. We headed off the streets of the strange End city. This could be a diabolical plot to bring back the Ender Dragon. It didn't have to do with Jacob, because Jacob just wanted to kill everyone but me, him, Drios/Notch/Markus, and Herobrine into reality. He didn't want to kill himself in the process.
The fortress resembled one I had seen shortly after I met Bruce, where we met the Enderman King. However, since this was invisible to endermen, this didn't have to do with a reappearance of the Enderman King.
The strangest part was that there was no entrance. Nemesis took out a diamond pick and slammed it against the wall. He didn't even make a dent. Not even an obsidian tool could take this wall down.
Then I remembered: there was another way in. If this was like the one I had seen before, I just had to go around to the back.
"Nemesis, pillar up. There's an enhance at the back. Trust me," I said. He nodded and began to pillar up with cobble. I did the same. Some endermen looked at us in confusion. I ignored them, however.
We rushed around to the back, which was made of obsidian since it would easily blend in with the black sky. We took out our picks and began mining away. It took about three minutes to finally break through the wall. It was surprisingly thick, as if the obsidian had been compressed.
Nemesis jumped in first and I went in after him. Sure enough, the inside of the castle looked the same as it had 20 years ago. The only thing different was that there was no obsidian orb floating in the middle.
Instead, Herobrine was waiting for us.
--------------
Perspective: Max
I walked away and headed back towards the Argentum residence when I noticed an enderman on the bridge. I had met my share of friendly endermen, so I tried not to let on that I would attack.
Then I realized who this was. It was Uvvi. She took my arm and teleported me into a purple building that was vaguely familiar. In there was Steve.
Also in the room was Herobrine.
-------------
Just a few moments ago...
Perspective: Third Person
"Nemesis isn't back yet," Chris said, "Do you think he went missing, too?"
"I'm sure of it," a new voice said. No one had heard this voice speak in at least a week. Jack walked into the house covered in snow and ice.
"Jack! What happened to you?" Impedimos asked, clearly in shock of what had happened.
"So…so cold," Jack said, shivering, "Find Risugami. He's with Vareide."
Jack began to cough. He clearly had hypothermia. Uvvi vanished from the room and returned with a blanket and wrapped it around Jack.
"Who's Vareide?" Christopher asked.
"I can't tell you any more," Jack said, "I can't let him find out. He'll kill us."
"Who? What?" Impedimos asked, but Jack had already left the room. Chris followed, clearly confused about all of this.
"Okay, we need a plan to find Vareide," Impedimos said, "Me and Christopher will go. Uvvi, you and Chris keep and eye on Jack."
Before anyone could react, Impedimos had grabbed Christopher's arm and they teleported out of the room. Little did they know, they were actually right outside the house.
The two headed to the Novacian information desk, the source of information in Novacia.
"What do you know about Vareide?" Impedimos asked, very serious about the matter.
"Calm down there," Christopher said, "This isn't an interrogation."
"Hm… Vareide?" the man at the desk said, "Ah, yes. He created the popular Survival Games, attended by thousands each year. He gets VIP seating each year. The 100th annual Survival Games starts tomorrow, but the tickets are already sold out."
"Is there any other way in?" Impedimos asked.
"You'd have to get special permission from Vareide or the host," the man said, "I heard this year's host's name is… Cameron. Very young to be a host. Maybe his father had the same role before."
"Wait, did he just say Cameron?" Christopher asked, dumbfounded. Impedimos didn't say a word. He just took Christopher by the arm and rushed him away.
Well, I finally found another book. I better begin explaining what in the world happened out there, me being the host of the Survival Games and all. Oh, you didn't find out about that, did you? Spoiler alert, I guess.
Anyway, we better go back about a day or two. Well, a few days for you. Eight years for me. It'll explain itself.
------------
36 Hours Earlier…
Perspective: Cameron
Let's start from where I fainted. I think that's where I last left off. I think. Like I wrote earlier, it's been eight years. Eight years won't be the easiest thing to write, so I'll go over the main details of it. Important dialogue and all that good stuff. I'm 13, not an author.
Anyway, after I fainted, I woke up back in the Nightmare Realm. I was in a room made of gold blocks. On the wall was a white cryptic message. Here's what it said:
FQ'P JB. AOFLP. F'J TXQZEFKD VLS…
I continued down a hallway to an odd sort of throne room. I saw a switch at the back and pulled it. A piston retracted and I fell down a pit into some water.
"Welcome, Lord Derik," a computerized voice said, "Easy access to your journal can be obtained through eye scan. Other intruders will be eliminated."
I noticed a tiny screen on the wall. If it was going to eliminate me, I needed to destroy it. I punched a hole through it and swam. Sure enough, it exploded behind me. I guess it was some sort of defense mechanism.
Finally the water cleared into a room with three paths. Oh great. I was in a maze. A strange voice echoed throughout the room.
You're going to be here forever…
It was strange, but I knew that in mazes, you always had to move in the same direction. So I chose left. Finally, I hit a dead end, which even had a sign that read:
Did you really think that would work?
I also noticed a button on the wall. Then I realized that there were nine of them. This was supposed to be some sort of password. But I knew how these things worked. I punched each button five times and then the computer voice spoke.
"Activating wormhole in 3, 2, 1…"
-------------
Eight Years Later (And in an Alternate Timeline)…
Perspective: Cameron
So that's how I need up in the future. The only thing I found different in the room was the fact that there was a ladder that led up to the surface. I climbed up it, but it took a while as I was pretty deep underground.
Once I got to the top, I met a guy in a white hoodie with a creeper face on the back.
"Who're you?" he asked.
"Who're you?" I asked.
"Well, I'm Star. Why do you look strangely familiar?"
"Maybe you met my dad. I've been told I look somewhat like him."
"Was your dad Max?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Then you must be… ah, man. I forgot already. It's been eight years since I last saw your dad."
"Well, my name's Cameron. And what are you doing just walking around when we're in hell?"
"I just completed my 'training' with someone I met a while back. It's a long story, and I don't think we have time. I have no idea what's going on back at the Overworld."
"The truth is, I don't know, either."
"Well, this is great."
"Why, yes, it is…" a new voice said. I whirled to the right to see Drios again. I thought he wouldn't bother to show up again after I beat him up riding a flying pig.
"What do you want? Last time we met each other, I took you down," I said.
"But that was eight years ago. Or did you accidentally activate my master's wormhole device so it's only been a few minutes for you?" Drios said.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"But I know everything. I sucked the powers of your friend… ah, what's his name? Ah, Risugami. I don't think you'll be seeing your dad for a while. Actually, your demise is near, so maybe you will. "
"I'd like to see you try," I said.
"Bad choice."
"What do you mean?" I asked, "You have no power now that I took the Crown of Chaos."
"Do you not know of what has happened over the last eight years?"
Drios asked, "Well, I'll let you find out on your own. But I don't need the crown for power anymore."
Drios vanished before my eyes, appearing right behind me. I heard a bang and turned to see Star with two pistols. Drios teleported up onto a ledge. Star aimed the pistols down and propelled himself up onto the ledge. He took out a dagger and stabbed Drios, who backed up in pain.
"Di-did you think…" Drios muttered in pain, "That… this is… this is all I can do?"
Drios took a few more step backs and the wound suddenly sealed up. He leaped over Star's head down right in front of me. His limbs extended and he grew four more legs until he became a spider creature of sorts.
"I knew you were demented before," I said, "But this is just insane."
"Just see what I can do," Drios said. I couldn't see his head, so I didn't know where his mouth was. Drios raised a leg to crush me. Star fiddled with one pistol and fired it at the leg. It stayed where it was, as if he were stunned. It slowly lowered down, so I quickly got out of the way.
I noticed another ledge. I could gain some height if I climbed up on it. I quickly got ahold of the rocks and got up as fast as possible. Drios smashed a leg into the wall. The very rocks I had just climbed on seconds ago were now dust.
His leg was stuck in the wall (obviously Star had used his stun pistol again), so I took the chance when it came. I jumped onto it and ran along to his back. I took out my sword and stabbed it right inside. Drios tilted back and screeched. My fall was a painful one, but I managed to survive the landing.
Drios reverted back into his normal form. He turned to me, clearly angry. He took out a scythe emanating a black aura. He charged at me at an alarming rate. yet something small and quick hit him before he got to me.
More precisely, it hit his scythe. The bullet from Star's pistol had pierced its way through the scythe and it disappeared into black smoke. Star jumped down over to finish it.
"Next time," Drios said, "I won't be so easy."
With that, he vanished. After catching Star up to speed about what had happened to Drios last time. Right after, coincidentally, I heard a loud beeping. Something flashed over to my left. It looked to be some sort of communication device. I picked it up and pressed a button on it. A holographic image of Steve appeared.
"Cameron, if you're hearing this, most of the people who aided us in the battle with Drios earlier are now dead," Holo-Steve said, "Jack got what we thought was hypothermia but was clearly something much worse. You have to retrieve a cure-all potion. I heard Derik mention something about a wormhole. If you can use it in reverse, you can bring back the potion to Jack."
"Wait, wait, wait. Who's Derik?" I asked. However, this appeared to be recorded so there was no response.
"You have to do this, Cameron," Steve said, "The fate of the world rests in your hands."
Not again, I thought.
"Bring Star with you if you find him," Steve said, "There's a button in this cave that will open up Herobrine's hideout. If you can defeat him, you can get the potion. There's a time machine built into this machine, but can only be used once. Good luck out there."
"You hear that, Star?" I said, "You're coming with me."
"Uh... okay," Star said, "Let's find that button."
As it turned out, it's very hard to find a button in a giant purple cave system. Me and Star must've searched for hours but found nothing. Maybe Herobrine had destroyed it. Finally, after a really long time, we reached a lever.
"It's no button," Star said, "But it's close enough. Pull it."
I did so and the entire ground in the cave fell from under our feet. Right before we hit the ground, Star aimed his pistols down, hitting me as he shot up. We hardly took any fall damage. Inside where we had fell looked just like the cave we were in before.
"So we fell into the exact same place?" I asked.
"Looks like it," Star said. We looked around the new cave but found nothing. Then I realized: It was a puzzle. There was something in this room that was different than the other one.
"Look around for anything that looks different from the cave we were just in," I said, "We'll probably find the button there."
We kept searching, but found nothing still. It looked the exact same as the cave before, but without the lever this time. I took out my pickaxe and began breaking random blocks. Nothing still. I tried thinking really hard, but there was nothing.
"It's been under our noses the whole time," Star said, "The thing that's different about this cave is that there's no lever."
I mentally facepalmed myself and said, "Of course!"
I went over to the block where the lever would have been and broke it with my pickaxe. Sure enough, behind it was a button. I pushed it, heard a lot of pistons, and suddenly, a pathway had opened up.
"We did it!" Star said, "Be ready. Who knows how powerful Herobrine is now?"
I got out my sword and went in, Star following. Inside was simply a desk. Many books were scattered on top of it. There was also a drawer that was slightly opened. I went over and took the books.
They were all plans for battle strategy. They would be very useful later on. I looked in the drawer. Inside was a potion with a pink liquid inside. It wasn't a regeneration potion, though. It was labeled "Cure-All",
I felt something grab my arm. I looked around, but no one was there. Star looked confused by my strange reaction. Suddenly, a light blue beam of light shot out from very close to me and hit Star, knocking him back. I turned to the source of the firing. There was nothing there at first. Then Herobrine appeared. He was the one grabbing my arm.
"Hello," Herobrine said, "Herobrine is busy at the moment. Please call again later."
Suddenly, Herobrine's entire body grew. The cavern collapsed because the roof was too big. His arm had become just big enough for me to slip out of his grip. I rolled out the exit, dragging Star's wounded body with me.
Most of the cave had been destroyed. Herobrine was a giant now. Star finally regained his strength and began rapid-firing bullets at Herobrine's eyes. They weren't doing much.
Herobrine raised his fist to smash down. Me and Star rushed out of the way. The impact created a large ditch and caused a small tremor. I quickly ran back over to where his fist was and jumped onto his arm.
I was going to have to keep my balance. If Herobrine were to twist his arm just a little bit, I would fall to my death. I was so light compared to him, he didn't feel a thing. He must've thought I had fled.
Star saw me, however, and created a distraction by firing at Herobrine's other arm. Herobrine just watched with an evil grin on his face because the bullets did nothing.
After about two minutes, I had climbed all the way up Herobrine's arm. I knew his weak spot was his eyes, but it would take more than just a few bullets to kill him.
I jumped and got ahold of his ear. He did feel me and shook his head, trying to get whatever he though I was off. I managed to hold on and get on top of Herobrine's head.
I took out a diamond sword I had been given during my first fight with Drios. I grabbed onto one of his hairs and hung over the front of his head. I only had one shot at this, so I had to make it count.
I took aim and threw. The sword flew like an arrow from a fully-charged bow and got Herobrine right between the eyes. He screamed in pain and shook me off.
I took out a water bucket and let the water fall to the ground. I fell into it unharmed. Herobrine managed to grab the sword and get it out of his head.
"Looks like I'll just have to squash you," Herobrine said, "I was thinking of more painful methods of death, but this will have to do."
His arm was about to come down when an arrow that didn't look normal flew towards his hand. Suddenly Link came into the cave.
"You two okay?" Link asked, "Luckily, that wasn't the real Cure-All in the cave that Herobrine just destroyed. This is it. Get out of here if you can."
Link tossed us a potion with a white liquid. Star caught it. Link fended off Herobrine's attacks with his bow while I tried to push the right button on the machine Steve had left behind.
Finally I found the right one and pushed it. A beam shot out from the device and opened up a vortex under me and Star. Before we knew what happened, we were at someone's house.
Inside was an enderman and someone else I didn't recognize. I thought they would be simply confused, but they looked more of appalled.
"Star?" the man and the enderman said at the same time.
"Yeah. Long story. No time to explain," Star said, "Give this potion to Jack. The fate of the world may depend on him."
He tossed the potion to the enderman. She caught it and teleported into another room. I turned to the other man in the room.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Torrent. Me and your dad have met before," Torrent said.
Before I could reply, a door opened and Jack, someone I had seen before I went on my wacky quest to the Aether, came in. Behind him came Uvvi and a man with blonde hair and a red jacket.
"Okay, what's going on here?" the man in the red jacket asked.
"It's a weird story that involves time travel, Herobrine, and a bunch of people dying," I said, "I'm Cameron and you two are...?"
"I'm Chris," the man said, "and the enderman is Uvvi."
"Okay, so we all know each other now."
"Uvvi," Jack said, "this is important. Don't ask me why, but you have to take Max to the End. He's in a city inside a ravine. There's only one like it. Cameron, there's a job opening for Survival Games host. There's something fishy going on in the Survival Games and if you're host, you can investigate."
"Got it," I said.
"On it," Uvvi said, disappearing. But then she reappeared.
"Wait," Uvvi said, "I might as well give you a ride to the Survival Games arena. Grab my arm."
I did so and the next thing I knew, I was in front of an arena. A banner hung over the entrance that read Happy 100th, Survival Games!. Uvvi had already left, so I was on my own.
A man with large blue eyes who I somehow recognized as Vareide came out. He spoke with a strange accent.
"Hello! I'm sure you're here for the job opening!" Vareide said, "With the Survival Games starting tomorrow and no one else applying, I guess we'll have to take you. Come with me."
I followed him inside. However, the arena had nothing inside. Vareide took out a key and opened a locked door labeled Employees Only. Behind the door was only a button. Suddenly, we were both transported to another hallway.
"You probably recognize me, Vareide, because I've hosted every Survival Games," Vareide said as we walked down the hallway, "But this year we have to make an exception. I don't want to give away the surprise, though. I suppose I should introduce you to the head Gamemaker."
Vareide opened one of the doors and we went in. Many people sat in front of monitors that would be used the manipulate the actual Survival Games.
One of them got out of their chair and came to greet us. He looked somewhat similar to Steve, but yet was completely different.
"Hello. I'm Jacob, the head Gamemaker this year," Jacob said, "Oh! It's you, Cameron. I didn't recognize you because you look so much older."
"Oh, you two know each other!" Vareide said, "Splendid!"
"No, I don't think it is," I said.
With Link and Star's help, Cameron recovered a potion that has saved Jack's life. Jack has sent many people on different missions, including sending Cameron the the 100th annual Survival Games, where he learned that Jacob is Head Gamemaker.
Meanwhile, Max, Steve, and Nemesis must deal with Herobrine in the End. But who knows what Herobrine is planning this time?
---------
Perspective: Cameron
"What do you mean?" Vareide said, "Jacob has tons of experience with technology. He's the perfect choice!"
"Well, for starters," I said, "This guy tried to kill my dad and kidnap his best friend. So this guy is mentally insane."
"Forgive me, Vareide," Jacob said, "Cameron clearly has the wrong information. I have good intents, and I didn't try to do anything of the sort. For now, let me introduce him to these two other Gamemakers."
One person on either side of him turned around, revealing Troll and another one of his servants that I did not know the name of.
"Oy, you," I said, "Wouldn't you want to blow this place up or something? You seem to be very fond of TNT."
"Maybe after the games," Troll said, "I am quite fond of being a Gamemaker."
"Well, we better rest up," Vareide said, "We've got a big day tomorrow!"
------------
In the End...
Perspective: Steve
"What's going on?" I asked, "Why are you here, Max? What are you planning, Herobrine?"
"Well, Uvvi took m-" Max said, but was cut off.
"That won't matter," Herobrine said, "Because I'm about to destroy all three of you. But I was told to capture Max so the boss could have the pleasure of killing him himself."
I nodded at Nemesis. We already had a plan. I took out an enderpearl and warped over Herobrine's shoulder. He turned towards me. Max and Nemesis switched places. Nemesis transformed into Max.
Herobrine pulled out a diamond sword just like mine and we got into an intense duel. Finally, he knocked the sword out of my hand. But Nemesis had just told the plan to Max.
"Hey ugly!" Nemesis/Max said, "I'm the one you want!"
"Nope! It's me," Max said, "He's trying to save me."
"No. He's doing that for me."
Herobrine was conflicted, but easily figured out what to do. He raised one hand and to dark beams shot out with hands on the front towards the faces of both Max and Nemesis. One hand pulled the Magic Mask off of Nemesis.
The other hand had grabbed Max and lifted him into the air and carried him back to Herobrine.
"Oh, sorry," Herobrine said, "Is this yours?"
Someone grabbed Herobrine's hand. The black hand faded. Max landed on the ground hard, but was mostly okay.
"Sorry about interrupting your fight," Vareide said, "But you four are all tributes in this year's Survival Games! What fun! Follow me back to our portal."
"Why should I listen to you?" Herobrine asked.
"Because of this," Vareide replied. He raised an arm. He had a metal glove on with some machinery built into it. A beam of energy shot out, stunning Herobrine.
"Now, what was that about not coming?"
"But how?" Herobrine asked, "How can you do that?"
"Simple," Vareide said, "Using the same technology as command blocks, I have programmed this glove to counter the abilities of its target. It's the perfect weapon. Of course, I don't want to kill you in this case."
"I'll come," Herobrine said, "But don't expect me to agree with you."
------------
At the Survival Games Arena…
Perspective: Max
I forgot about my book, so I opened it again.
Trust me. Go with it.
Me, Steve, Nemesis, and Herobrine followed Vareide down a hallway. He led us to our rooms. The next morning, we would be killing each other. I tried to keep that thought out of my head.
----------
Perspective: Cameron
At some time in the middle of that night, I heard voices. I got out of the double-bed and looked around. I couldn't see anyone with the moonlight. I went over and flipped a lever. A redstone lamp turned on, illuminating the room.
Still, no one was there. The room was very small, consisting of only the bed and a desk. The only other thing in the room was a closet. I opened it up, but no one was inside. I went outside of the room into the dark hallways. Something told me that there would be guards. I would have to keep hidden.
The voices came from the next room. I crouched down and put my ear against the door. i recognized Vareide's voice and someone else's voice.
"I'm telling you," the unknown voice said, "If you don't get two more tributes, we're shutting it down. You have exactly 1 hour to find more tributes.'
"You can't be serious!" Vareide said, "Where am I supposed to find two tributes in the middle of the night?"
"You tell me," the other voice said, "I'll be back in one hour to see who you've found."
I heard the doorknob click. I turned around and rolled forward. The door opened behind me but it opened in a way so I wouldn't be seen still. I quickly turned a corner, but it was a dead end. I felt around and my hand hit a button.
I was warped to outside. Christopher and an enderman stood outside. Christopher was confused at the sight of me.
"Cameron?" Christopher whispered, "Is that you?"
"Yeah," I said, "There's no tickets left, if that's what you're here for. But, lucky for you, Vareide needs two more tributes or the games will get shut down. Come with me."
I took them over to the room where Vareide had been talking with the other man. Vareide look stunned to see me at that time of night.
"Cameron?" Vareide asked, "What are you here for?"
"What was that about needing two more tributes," I asked. Book Two: The Survival Games
Our heroes arrived at the Survival Games Arena, but most tributes haven't been revealed. As a suspicious plot in the Survival Games thickens, many of our heroes may fall before they can find it out…
--------------
The Next Morning...
Perspective: Omnipresent View (Fancy terms for Third Person)
A podium rose in the middle of the massive coliseum in which the Survival Games was going to be held. Cameron had perfectly memorized his lines as host. It was the perfect disguise. Cameron stood on the podium, ready to go.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cameron said into the microphone, "Welcome to the 100th Annual Survival Games! As it is the 4th Quarter Quell, we have many surprises to throw at you! Some of our very staff will be competing this year including Head Gamemaker Jacob and Gamemakers Kaslar, Troll, and Risugami!
"Also this year, we've changed the rules tremendously for this game only! Instead of simply finding chests and making their own tools, our tributes will literally be playing as if they're surviving on their own! Of course, we have still hidden many chests! As in every year, our tributes won't actually die when killed. Using command blocks, they will simply be teleported into the spectator area.
"But that's not all! If you've noticed, you don't see any capsules for the tributes. That's because this isn't the real arena! This is!"
Cameron pushed a button on a remote and everyone was teleported and flying above a massive forest. In the center were 24 mechanical podiums and in the center of the ring they made was many chests contained with various helpful items. Cameron flew right above this spot, still holding the microphone.
"And here come the tributes!" Cameron said. Which each one named, the specified tribute rose out of his or her capsule.
"Here comes Steve, Max, Bruce, Tanksverylot, Star, Dilikau, Impedimos, Christopher, a different person referred to as Chris. Here comes Jack, Uvvi, Link, Nemesis, Gamemaker Risugami, Ghirahim, Demise, Drios, Head Gamemaker Jacob, Gamemaker Kaslar, Gamemaker Troll, The Deadly Herobrine, Nightmist, Spiadar'stai, and for our final tribute…"
Smoke blew out of the final capsule, concealing the tribute inside. Cameron had purposely created a suspenseful pause to reveal the final tribute. It was a shock to everyone in the arena.
"The very creator of the Survival Games, Vareide!" Cameron shouted, "Tributes, your goal is to act as if you were surviving on your own, but you also have to eliminate the other tributes. They won't actually die, of course. Alliances are permitted, but only one tribute can remain! The games begin in (help me out here, crowd) 5…"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"0!"
"Let the games begin!"
The capsules were opened and the tributes rushed in, punching each other to get to the chests. Even close friends such as Link and Nemesis were nearly killing each other to get whatever was in the chest. Even if it was feathers or bits of wheat.
Variede climbed on the head of Steve and jumped up to a chest in the very middle of all of the other chests. He opened it and pulled out an iron chestplate, 2 pieces of bread, and an iron sword. He jumped down, sticking his sword into Chris. A lightning strike was heard as Chris vanished into white particles. He picked up what Chris had left behind. Vareide slipped himself into some chain pants.
Max had managed to rush away and get to a tree. He managed to punch it down, looking behind him every few seconds. He placed down a crafting table and made a shovel, sword, and pickaxe (all made of wood, of course).
Poor Steve, dazed and confused from begin climbed on, was nearly killed. But he grabbed the sword from his attacker, Tanksverylot, and killed him. Another lightning strike was heard. Steve finally came to his senses and picked up what Tanks had created, which was a bow and quiver. It only had 14 arrows, but it was useful nonetheless.
This was going to be a deadly game.
Steve rushed through the trees as fast as he could. He didn't care if no one was chasing him. He finally found a chest hanging from a branch. He opened it and pulled out an iron axe and three apples. He sat against the trunk, eating one of them.
"You're running, too?" A voice asked, "Don't be scared. It's me, Max. I got some stuff, too. I figure we find another chest and set up camp. Next morning, we start mining and cover up the tracks."
"Sounds good," Steve said, getting up, "Want an apple?"
Steve tossed it over to where Max's voice had come from. Max stepped in between the trees and caught it. Just at that moment, lightning struck again.
"Another one dead," Max said, "That leaves 21. Don't know how Nemesis is, but he's pretty thrashed up. I saw Risugami for a bit. He said he'd come for me later."
"That doesn't sound good," Steve said, "We better get started."
Link rushed into a cave and managed to make sure no one followed him. He didn't have his sword or shield;They had been confiscated. He found a dungeon. He saw two chests and ran for them. He ignored the small holes at the bottom of the walls. He triggered the tripwire and that was the end of that. There was a crater where Link had once stood.
Vareide dug his way in and looted the two chests. He pillared his way up, covering the tracks. Vareide already had a chain helmet, pants, and boots along with an iron chestplate. He was deadly.
Troll had found his way into a similar dungeon. He took the TNT out of the traps and looted the chests, getting more TNT along with a fire charge. The odds were ever in his favor.
Kaslar didn't need good things. He was allowed to keep his spellbooks. He could have zombies do the fighting for him. Behind him, he heard rustling. Bruce descended from the trees with a drop kick, stealing many of Kaslar's items and hurrying away. Kaslar summoned a zombie, but was too late.
Bruce then found himself with Risugami. Risugami had decent armor but Bruce had the weapons. Both of them had the same idea.
"Truce?"
Herobrine was very confident. He didn't need good gear to win. He was invincible. Most of his powers had been disabled by Vareide. But there were some that were part of his very soul...
Star was allowed to keep his pistols but not his bullets. He would have to make them. It had been a while since Dilikau had given these to him. Star managed to smuggle through a few chests. Then he hit the jackpot: three iron ingots. Just one could give him 10 bullets. He used the others to make a sword.
Just then Dilikau came in. Star had always wondered how Dilikau had come here from the future since the games began.
"Oh, hey Star," Dilikau said, "I followed you through the portal. Anyways, I say we should work together."
"Sounds like a plan," Star replied. Drios, who had been listening through the trees, gulped. He was alone. Book Three: Finale
Chapter Ten—Nightmist Returns
Chapter Eleven—The First Night
Chapter Twelve—Meanwhile...
Chapter Thirteen—Deathmatch Impending
Chapter Fourteen—"And the Winner Is..."
Spotlight: Life before The Eye Project: Torrent's Story by peppertyce
As this story is based off of my series (and got my approval), I gave it a spotlight where everyone else can see it.
[represent]
AWESOME SC1020 IS AWESOME !
TT2000, you are genius.
I likes chapter. Has guude things in it.
TT2000, you are genius.
EDIT:You fooled me.
For big fans of this series, I am just about to start another called Manipulation: Between Games.
Okay, there's a new weekly spotlight! Also, check out the "Big News"