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Nobody would've believed in our lifetime, that our activities were being watched from the mythical world of The Nether. As we went about our various little affairs, mining, building, and having the occasional, unimportant war between a few, we were being watched for lethargy, analyzed and spied upon so that our strengths would be known and our weaknesses could be exploited. Few of us had even dreamed of the possibility of a creature as powerful as the fabled Ender Dragon, but in much greater numbers. Those of us who had the fortune of living in a powerful clan or faction had the near guarantee of complete safety from the brigand armed with stone or iron, or anything else, even if the Ender Dragon would come to The Overworld. Perhaps it was possible that the chickens we slaughter without forethought had thought the same in the times before we domesticated them. As we fancied ourselves the rulers of our realm, as we thought ourselves invulnerable, minds and beings greatly beyond us had looked to this world, full of life, with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.

I had been in my clans' base, the owners of which had become so sure of themselves as to build it above the soil, as they supposedly 'tired of toiling in the rocks like those who fear us' to quote. We had a massive castle, a fortress of obsidian and stone bricks, manned by what must've been near fifty warriors, clad in armor with the greatest enchantments and arrows which would strike true, blades that could slice through iron armor like a shovel through dirt. Everything about our clan and its members was designed specifically for conquering other players, giving my clan some dominion over the vast region of the realm we called our own. We had spent our days in merriment, eating the finest steak we could produce and spending our hours annihilating the small alliances who dared to challenge our rule. We had, for a time, thought ourselves as gods, never to be defeated and forever to be feared.

It all seemed so perfect.

I had been in my garden, harvesting a fresh watermelon, when the first of the hooded ones appeared. It had been a simple evening, with no interference with our usual activity. and I had simply taken the day to relax. I find it so confusing, now, that I hadn't been helping the others to further fortify the base. Although I was assured in our safety by what must have been four-block thick obsidian walls, I still feel as though I wish I had done something at that time, as fruitless as it would've been.

As I plucked another watermelon, I heard a loud, strange woosh somewhere outside of the walls. It took me a moment to smile, and realize that what I had just heard was not but another Nether Portal being opened. I had relaxed my muscles for a moment before our leader had called us to the south wall.

I had taken my bow and arrow from my room, hurrying to the battlements. I was rather confused as to why the leader seemed to urgent, especially considering that all we saw once we reached the top of the wall was a small group of people, clothed only in black robes. I would've laughed had it not been for my leader's presence. I drew my bow, ready to end what I thought would be an ill-fated uprising.

"Intruders!" My leader hailed the people below. They did not respond.

"If you choose not to leave, we will have to open fire." He smirked.

The hooded faces only responded by revealing bags filled with soul sand. I pondered the reasoning behind this, as I, as most of my clan members did, believed soul sand to be a nearly useless material, only useful for growing Nether Wart for potions. Why the invaders had it in such great supply boggled my mind.

They began to construct with the material, eventually molding it into a T-shaped structure. It looked like no display we had seen before. Were they trying to communicate? Had they no tongues?

My leader did not speak. He must've not have seen what a threat we were watching be formed.

A few hooded figures revealed black skeleton skulls from their sacks, which further confused me. I had not seen a black skeleton before in my travels, so I could only theorize that the skulls were burned.

They had placed three skulls, equidistant from each other on top of the structure.

In a moment, a bright flash of blue shown followed by a low chime which all could hear, and the structure began to move upward. We had all frozen in a maddening state of confusion and fear. As it smoothed and formed, the creature, covered in blue light, was right in front of us.

The three skulls had become flesh-covered heads of similar tone. The soul sand had morphed into a body, which seemed like a ribcage, but thicker and darker. Each head bore eyes with a piercing white stare. It let out a raspy hiss and the light around it exploded, knocking a fair number of fighters off of the battlements.

Without command we opened fire, sending myriad arrows at the thing which had sent our comrades flying. but it barely acknowledged the arrows that made their mark. It didn't even bleed. One of the heads fired itself at us, quickly regenerating. The head which took flight had exploded upon contact with the leader. His armor had become a dirty black color where the explosion struck, and pieces of it began flaking off like shale or gravel.

It was only a moment before I realized that it was not the armor, but his own flesh, which was withering away.

He opened his mouth to yell, but another head hit him, turning his body into black dust. A sudden, unfortunate gust of wind blew the remains into the faces of the archers, who soon broke rank, and I ran too, fearing this supposedly unstoppable force. I fled down a ladder, the top of which was fired upon by the monster, disintegrating it, as well as the few unfortunate soldiers who had fled a moment too late behind me.

My hopes of eventually defeating the beast was shattered as more explosions were heard, and more monsters just like it began to fly above the wall, destroying more of the wall and those who tried to fight still. I had run for my room, which as deep within another area of the fortress. I fled into a hallway, attempting to ignore the sounds of my comrades screaming as they were turned to dust. I breathed in something, which tasted much like one would think coal tasted, and a flaky substance touched the back of my throat as I ran, but I waited until I was safely inside to gag.

I closed the door behind me, putting down a few blocks of stone brick to feign security for my own sake. I sat in my room for a while, pacing silently as the sounds of more summoned monsters sounded from outside. I covered my ears, but it did little to cover the dying screams of my fellow fighters as they were turned to dust.

I eventually barricaded myself into my room with whatever materials I had, starting with Obsidian and eventually using bookshelves to make my room seem abandoned to any invader that may pass through.

I had ripped some wool from my bed, plugging my ears. I laid down beneath my bed to hide, using a pillow to cover my ears further. I promised myself that I would soon escape this war zone and run to any nearby settlements, even if I had wronged them, to warn them of the coming death.

The screaming died down, and I eventually drifted into a light, terrified rest.