In this universe, there are many creatures that exist simultaneously, fitting together and surviving by each other. There are dozens if not hundreds of each creature, and none are alone. Except for one. Alex came into the universe and began moving immediately. With her hands, she turned a few trees into planks, a crafting table, sticks, and tools to help her in this world that she was alone in. No other was like her.
She hadn't built a shelter her first day, and the night was undoubtedly terrifying. Why? She chose to come to this universe, knowing it would be scary and that she would be alone for a long time. Why did she do it?
She spent the entire night frantically looking around her, running, hiding, and fighting any monsters that stumbled upon her.
In the morning, she was very hungry from running and her movements were slow as she hunted for food, eating raw meat and berries from bushes that hurt her. She says nothing, and she continues her journey once her health is stable. What is her drive? Why put herself through this?
Using the axe she crafted, she chops down trees and carries the wood with her as she travels to the destination not even she knows. With enough material, she stumbles upon a cave as the skies darken. She doesn't know who or what's in the cave, and it puts her on edge. And yet, she ventures in and lights her way further down into the earth once she finds coal. She travels farther and farther, going days without sleeping or seeing the sun, and only retraces her steps once she is low on food and wood.
Emerging from the cave, she is less afraid, but still frightened as she travels through the night. Why didn't she just stay in the cave? She has a bed with her! What is her urgency? She fights any monsters that cross her path.
When the morning comes, she follows the sun to a village. She gets excited upon seeing it, and she begins running. The villagers go about their lives, barely acknowledging their new intruder as she steals from them and explores their homes. When she is satisfied, she leaves. Why doesn't she stay? She can't understand what the villagers are saying, but they do not harm her, and they made her feel less alone. Why did she leave? Where is she going?
Alex travels until she comes to a plateau, where she sets down her things and begins building a large box. She decorates it and makes it functional with plenty of storage. She crafts weapons and armor and hunts again until nightfall. But she doesn't return to her house to sleep. She stays nearby, but she doesn't go inside. Why is she doing this? Why is she choosing to kill the monsters and collect what they drop?
She dies at one point at the arrows of a skeleton, losing a portion of her progress. She could have stopped there. Surely she would be happier if she stops. But she doesn't. She returns to the universe, and goes right back to fighting, moving faster from being angry. Why does she keep going if she's mad? If she insists on continuing on whatever path she is envisioning, why doesn't she at least take a break?
She fights until daybreak, and then she ventures out again in the direction of the jungle. She stumbles upon another village along the way, but she only takes a brewing stand this time. What is she doing? What is she planning?
When she reaches the jungle, she passes the cocoa bean trees and the animals inhabiting the area. She sprints and eats until she reaches the swamp. She hastily circles a shack in the middle of the water before she spots a witch. She swims towards it and swings her sword until it is struck down. Wounded, she enters the shack. Using a glass bottle she had crafted earlier, she collects a potion from the cauldron before leaving. Is that all she came for? She traveled that great distance and slayed a witch for a bottle of a potion she had no certainty of?
She returns to her house but only for a moment, storing away what she collected while away and grabbing materials before she leaves again. She enters a new cave with a large opening with a multitude of pickaxes, food, and torches. It's evident she plans to be down and digging for a long time again. Why? She was relieved when she finally left the last cave. Why is she subjecting herself to the same thing all over again? How is she benefiting from this?
She travels into the depths of the Earth, wearing pickaxe after pickaxe down and collecting stacks of materials. She crosses bottomless caverns and even narrowly crosses lava to get to gold and diamonds. She finds a stronghold, and begins exploring that, opening chests and mining as she goes. Since she gets bread and apples from the chests, she stays down in the mines and survives for several days, striping it raw of its materials. Once she is satisfied again, she resurfaces and returns to her house. She smelts and stores her findings before she puts on her best armor and collects her strongest sword.
She waits until nightfall before leaving, hunting down a certain species in particular: the endermen. With their power to teleport and their black texture, they are one of the most frightening things in the universe. And yet she seeks them out, fully aware that she can and probably will die while searching for and killing them. What is the point? All they drop are some pearls and even then that's only most of the time.
Once she deems she has enough pearls, she returns to her house and crafts an enchantment table. She changes the pearls before she reverts her attention to the diamonds. She crafts and enchants armor, swords, arrows, and bows. Then, with her brewing station, she makes healing potions. What is she planning? What is she going to do that is making her take such precautions?
Finally, she takes three separate stacks of cobblestone before she returns to the mines. Using the torches she had placed down before as her guide, she finds the stronghold once again. She enters a room and begins placing the pearls into different slots that form a square over lava. When she places the last one down, the space inside the square turns into a portal! Alex knows where it goes, and she hesitates. This is what everything she has done has been leading up to. This is the reason why she has persisted despite death, despite fear. Whatever is on the other side of the portal has been worth what she has been fighting for.
She checks everything in her inventory one last time before she leaps in, both terror and determination consuming her. On the other side lay pillars several stories tall, dozens of endermen, and, in the middle of it all, an enderdragon bigger than anything Alex has laid eyes upon. She steels herself before charging in, heading towards the closest tower. Using the cobblestone, she builds her way up, urgently trying to get to the top before anything has the chance to knock her down and surely kill her. She gets to the top and destroys the item, making it explode. Making a bridge she moves without a second of hesitation onto the next one. And the next one. And the next one. Once she has destroyed the things atop all of the pillars, she stares down the enderdragon.
She returns to the ground and positions herself near the center before she strings an arrow to her bow, pointing it at the sky as she searches the dark expanse. When her eyes lock on the beast, she fires. Again and again. Sometimes she misses; sometimes her arrows sink on their target. When the dragon returns to the center, Alex thrusts her sword into the belly of the beast repeatedly until it flies away. Again, she takes out her bow and arrows and begins firing. She aims with precision and fires with accuracy. The endermen surrounding her on all sides are the least of her concerns. She knows she is so close to getting what she has wanted for weeks, months.
When the dragon returns to its perch, Alex drives her sword into it until everything comes to a standstill. The monster begins levitating upwards, exploding into multiple beams of light. And just like that, it's over. Alex looks to the sky and relaxes, her journey at its end. She doesn't bother defeating the remaining endermen for there is no point.
A new portal opens up, and Alex's heart swells with joy. Her feet pound against the ground as all other sounds are drowned out by her breathing. She launches herself towards the portal and makes it through. On the other side stand her parents, and they begin talking to her.
She absorbs some of what they're saying, but part of it is drowned out as she internally celebrates her victorious feat. She did it. She's back with her family. All the fear, all the isolation, all the hard work with seemingly no reward was worth it. It was all worth it. Green and Blue are proud of her and are talking to her once again.
"Thank you, Mojang," she says happily, more than glad that she had gone on her quest.
