Edit(8-13-18): Just some revisions that I felt were a long time coming, best regards to all.
In the land of Mine Craftia, there lived a kind and humble farmer, who went by the name of "Steve." He was a Caucasian male of average height, paired with his brown hair and eyes, and the average build for a farm worker. Overall, one could say that he was quite an average man.
Though if there was one thing that could be said about "Steve," it was that no one actually knew of his true name, and so people have just taken to calling him Steve. Said man made no effort to dissuade them of such.
Steve was a man of simple deign, often preferring to tend to his farmlands, day in day out. But on several occasions, he would often wonder to himself, ponder upon the greater mysteries of life, 'Is this really all that I want to do in my life? … Am I truly content with this? For surely, there is some other purpose in my life rather than just tending to crops and animals... Maybe there is something, somewhere, out there, in the vast expanse of the unknown.' He caressed the locket around his neck as he pondered. Little did he know that he would soon find the answers, and then some, come the morrow.
The very next day, as he was tending to the farm animals, a break in his daily routine occurred. A man was meandering through the roads beside his farm, hobbling along quite listlessly. And Steve, being the kind man that he was, immediately made to assist the person. And as he neared the man, he could see that the he was of quite the tall individual. As he finally reached the man, he could see that he was sporting a shade of skin so dark that he seemed to akin to midnight in flesh, and possessed a most peculiar hue of the eyes, a deep amethyst that shone even in the broad daylight of the midday. All of the traits would not be readily noticeable if you were watching his figure from afar, because he was stooping so low that his imposing height wasn't of immediate note, and wore an outfit of long sleeves that concealed most of his skin.
Upon reaching the man, he noticed the haggard and weary looked on his old and weathered countenance, and asked in concern,
"Good sir, are you alright? I could not help but notice your weary countenance. Are you perchance hailing from afar? I am quite unfamiliar with your presence."
The man in question let out a raspy chuckle, "Indeed young man. I am not from around these parts, so to speak, and am seeking lodgings to stay for the night. If you could be so kind as to point me to the nearest lodging establishment I would truly appreciate it."
"I am sorry to say this sir, but I'm afraid the nearest tavern is still quite a few leagues away from here."
The man's posture stooped lower, if that were at all possible.
"I see… that really is quite the unfortunate news. Nevertheless, I thank you young man. Now I'd best be going now if I want to reach the tavern before sun down. I bid thee farewell"
The old man made to leave, before Steve exclaimed, "Wait sir!"
"Hmm, what is it?"
"I didn't think I caught your name."
"Oh my how rude of me, not introducing myself to such a courteous young man. Very well, my name is ͏͍̫͚͖̼̻̺E͊͋͌̽̾͏҇҄̉̊҉͍n̴̴͙͚̾͜҉d̴͚̰͓͛͂͆̈́̑͌̚e҉҉҉r͚̬͋͒͆̌̑͠˷̞͈͍͙͚, but most call me Meruem."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I suppose you can't really understand me can you, but no matter. What I want is to know your name."
"Oh, right, I am called Steve."
Meruem raised a single brow, "Called?"
"Yes, don't ask."
"Very well then, I think it time for my departure now anyways."
The man was just about to depart again when Steve called out, again,
"Ah right, actually I have a proposal sir Meruem. If you'd want, you could stay in my abode. I have more than enough space for a guest or two."
"Truly? Are you sure young man?"
" Of course Sir, it would be improper of me to just leave someone in plight without even trying to help."
Meruem was quite grateful, "Why thank you Steve! You have my deepest gratitude."
As it was getting late, Steve offered Meruem some food for dinner.
"Would you like to eat something sir?"
"Why yes, very much so, thank you."
After an uneventful dinner Steve was about to retire for the night, when Meruem motioned for him to stay,
"What is it?" Steve asked.
"As thanks to your hospitality, I want to tell you a story."
"Cant' it wait tomorrow?"
"Im afraid not… can you bear with this old man just for a bit?"
"Oh alright, I suppose it'd be fine."
And so Meruem proceeded to tell him a fascinating tale of an obscure legend, a tale of another dimension, of beings capable of teleportation and of its dragon king seeking to invade their world, of pearls spread around the continent that contained the power to open a portal, to the other dimension. He spoke of the first pearl, located deep in the jungle biomes of the south, where you would find the jungle temple housing the first pearl and a clue to the second pearl, and of course along with a plethora of traps. Nine pearls would be gathered onto the portal, and it would open the way to the dimension of END. The Ethereal Nebulae Dimension, the absolute end of all dimensions…
Meruem tapered off, Steve was enraptured, and so asked, "What? What's next? Tell me!"
"I'm afraid that is all I can really tell you Steve."
"But why, Is it still not finished?"
"Right you are! Yes, it is not... Notice, that in all that I have told you, all thos different places and things, there never was a hero mentioned... not even once... neither a heroine. It is because even until now, there never was someone who could discover the location of the temple containing the first pearl. For you see you need something special to find the first pearl, and the subsequent pearls."
Steve was bursting with excitement at this point.
"What you really need…"
Steve leaned forward eagerly,
"... need in an abundance... "
Steve was at the edge,
"… is destiny."
and he fell from his seat. A loud thud resounded throughout the room.
"Are you alright Steve?"
"Yes, yes I'm fine."
But Steve was now sporting a flat look, "And… destiny… really?"
He deadpanned, Steve was understandably skeptical.
"Well no," he snickered "not really, while destiny might play a part in it, what you also need is a compass. But this is no ordinary compass, indeed, it is a special and unique compass. Aptly named the Temple Compass, it is shaped like a locket, and when opened, you will find inside not the four cardinal directions, but rather something akin to a sun dial perched atop a clock. And at the back of the cover, you will find a compass arrow shaped like a dragon's eye in violet."
Steve froze at that, he remembered the locket that his grandparents left him, after their sad departure from the world. A locket containing a small 'sundial', but he couldn't sure. What were the chances? Maybe it has some other locket right? After all his locket also had "…a dragon's eye in the back cover." Steve bit back a gasp, though it went unnoticed by Meruem.
"I have kept you long enough Steve, I think it is time that you and I both retire for the night do you not? "Steve was still more than a little stunned, so all he could reply was a non-committal hum "Mhmm."
"I thank you for your time Steve."
And Meruem shuffled off to the guest room, while Steve sat in silent contemplation.
He stressed over the locket, and what it could potentially hold, for a few more minute, before finally deciding to just go to sleep. 'Argh! It's already nearing midnight! I'll just deal with this in the morning.' Steve heaved a great sigh before flopping down gracelessly onto his bed. That night, Steve kept on tossing and turning in his bed, and he dreamt of eyes of amethyst, and flames violet.
The next morning, after they had finished breaking their fast, Steve decided to approach Meruem about the locket in his possession.
"Sir-"
"No need for such formality young man, you have given me lodging, essentially free of charge, so this is the least that I can do."
"Very well then... Meruem, do you remember the tale you told me last night?"
"Yes of course, it was just yesterday after all, why do you ask?"
"In the story last night, you mentioned a I found myself curious, for I have in my possession a locket of seemingly similar make."
"Truly? Let me see it for a moment."
Steve took off the aforementioned locket, and handed it to Meruem, "Here."
Upon seeing it, Meruem let out a light gasp. After a few seconds of thorough inspection, he murmured, "Fascinating, absolutely fascinating... Young man! I must ask, where does this locket come from? Where have you gotten it?"
"Err, I was told it is a family heirloom, and it was given to me by my late grandfather… that's all I really know"
At this, Steve's countenance saddened.
"Oh… I am quite sorry for bringing up obviously painful memories."
"It's okay Meruem, It was a long time ago."
"Very well, though I must say, this definitely is the locket spoken of in the legend. Hehe, you might not know it Steve, but I am quite sure that your Destiny is just starting yet."
There was a small smirk on Meruem's face, and Steve deadpanned, "Destiny... really Meruem? Is that the best you can do?"
That elicited a slight chuckle from the man, but he backed down nonetheless.
"Well what do you want to do now?"
"I'll think about it for a while, I'm not sure if I really want to just go and commit myself to adventuring just like that."
"Ah, a good choice, you are quite the astute for your age."
…
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Heh, take what you will of it."
One could hear the smirk in his voice, if that was even possible.
"Just a friendly few piece of advice, be mindful of traps aplenty, for they are not only exclusive to adventures and such, and life is rife with them. And not only the physical type either, for traps of the mind are likewise abundant, they lurk in the shadows and wait for when you are at your weakest. And so I say…
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
"Gah! What the heck old man!?"
"Heuheuheu… I shall be taking my leave now… you have my deepest gratitude Steve."
"Ah, you're welcome Meruem."
Steve gave a kind, genuine smile as he bid his farewell.
And Meruem was about to turn when he jolted, "Ah right, almost forgot, one last thing for you Steve. Shining apples are moderately good for your health. And so, I bid thee good luck."
Steve was baffled, "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
But Meruem was already a ways away.
...
When Steve's form was but a speck in the distance, Meruem muttered, "You're going to need it."
Steve's daily routine quickly resumed after that, tending to the farm day in and day out. But accompanying him everyday was the constant feeling of hollowness, a feeling that made him feel as though there was something missing in his current lifestyle.
He didn't want to think about it, he really didn't. But after days of deliberate ignoring the problem, he just couldn't take it anymore. 'I've decided, I can't just not think about it anymore." And so Steve argued with himself, one side of himself was denying the call of adventure and wanting to say content with his current lifestyle, while the other was yearning to just go out and adventure! Have the time of his life! "On one hand, I could just stay here doing essentially nothing, get bored out of my skull, and suffer through the repetitive motions of farm work… or, on the other hand, I could sell all of my produce, and procure supplies I would need, and then embark on a grand adventure."
Steve muttered to himself, "You know, staying here sounded way more persuasive inside my head. Gah! What am I doing? I'm talking to myself like some kind of lunatic."
Steve heaved a great sigh, "Haaahhh. Let's just get this over with…"
And so Steve went out to take stock of what products could he sell, his equipment, and what he could bring along… along with him to his Grand Adventure.
And so it began, in time he would encounter a companion to his travels. He would be going from barren dessert, to swimming deep under the sea... cruise into other dimensions, and mine deep within the depths of the terra.
But that is another story for another time.
Prologue END