Chapter 9

Something wasn't right. No matter how much Joshua tried to shrug it off, something kept ebbing at him in the back of his mind. His heart had nearly stopped when they'd first entered. As he and one of his fellow cohorts were both stepping down, the stone beneath him sank at their touch. Hearing the subtle click and the initial press, he'd flung himself to the side as fast as he could. Only…for nothing to happen. Except him making a complete fool of himself. His more daring companions even mocked him by pointedly stepping on it as they met him. Bah. Of course the thing was busted. This cavern was old and had been here for Notch knows how long. He swore when he got his hands on that peasant he was going to take his time wringing his neck.

Still, as they progressed, he couldn't shake the inexplicable feeling of unease in his stomach.

"Where are all the wild mobs?" Shephard whispered, sword drawn and held out cautiously in front of him. "A cavern this old should be crawling with them."

"A'h, they probably scuttled their way back ta' tha' depths when our new pal moved in." Cinthia quipped, holding her bow at the ready, an arrow partially notched. "Shame tho'. Woulda been good target practice."

"No, Shephard's right. Wild mobs would never give up the chance to chomp on a live meal. 'Specially not a villager. Damn fool even lit up the place like a beacon." Rupert chimed in, battle ax gripped tightly in both hands. "There should be more here. Even if he fought them off the first time, they're relentless as all Nether."

"Shut up! All of you!" Duncan hissed. "You'll give us away!"

Curse this lot. Why couldn't any of the quieter soldiers be for sale? However, they had a point. That was it. That was what had been bothering him. Since they'd come in, they hadn't come across a single mob. None of them. Not a single spider, skeleton, or even a zombie. Such creatures were known to dwell in places like this, nether, it was common knowledge. Unruly and savage creatures that loved the darkness and despised the light of day. That's what made this all so unsettling. The cavern walls were lined with torches, providing a bounty of illumination. This area should have been crawling with the little beasts, eager to do away with whoever had dared to trespass on their territory.

Yet there was nothing. Not even the faintest screech or moan. Just an eerie, unnerving silence.

They continued on, following the pre-lit path as it led them further down. Despite the cavern being well lit and their apparent lack of need to be on watch for any of the usual cavern dwellers, that didn't dispel the odd sense of tension in the air. Glancing between them all, everyone was on alert, skittish even. Well, that may have been typical for Duncan. That scrawny milksop was as spineless as he was anxious. However, Rupert, the beast of a man that he was, had not once lowered his ax once on their arrival. Nor had his eyes relaxed from their stern, observant expression they held upon entering the cave. The same went for Shephard. The only one who seemed remotely unphased was Cinthia, but bah, that girl hardly ever seemed to care about much at all.

Joshua frowned, turning his head away from them and back to the path. What right did they have to feel so blocking on edge for? They didn't know what they were going to up against. They had no idea! Not like he did. They didn't know that this peasant bastard could somehow shake off explosions like they were nothing. They didn't know he could cover the distance between rooms in the mere blink of an eye. They weren't the ones who suffered so much pain by his hand! Yet, here they were, perturbed and cautious. As if they knew that this unknown assailant would likely be the biggest threat they ever faced.

Soon, they found a divergence in the path with only one side carrying on the trail of firelight. Then, after a short curve, they arrived. A dead end stoned in junction with a single oak door centered in the middle. This was it. It was time. Time to exact his vengeance. Alice should've had more than enough time to seduce him. The rest of them knew the plan.

Cinthia grinned wildly as she approached the door, drawing her bow up and pulling back the arrow, ready to fire. Joshua smirked. Even with her brash attitude and reckless nature, there was no denying that she was one of the best archers in the guard. Once she successfully drove a couple arrows into him, Rupert could rush in and subdue his prey. Duncan would aid him in dispatching Shephard and then there would be nothing in the way of him being able to enjoy himself as carved up the blocking lout that caused him so much trouble. And he would be sure to take his time by going very, very slowly.

Cinthia lifted her foot, positioned to kick in the door. But then, much to his astonishment, she lowered it. He blinked. What in the Nether was she doing? Had she heard something from inside that made her pause? Had Alice given them up?! No, no, she wouldn't dare. Not with the possibility of harm coming to her daughter. Even if he had been lying when he told her he had men in town, she wouldn't have taken the chance of warning him, would she? Joshua gritted his teeth. If she chose now of all times to defy him, he swore he would make her regret it! Just as he was about to hiss at Cinthia to get on with it though, his breathe caught in his throat as she saw her smile and raise a hand to the door. Joshua felt his blood turn to ice as she let off three solid raps on the door.

So help him, he might end up killing her too before this was all over.

Immediately afterwards, she threw her foot out, busting the door wide open as she entered in with her bow raised. "Knock knock loverbo-"

BOOM!

Cinthia raised up her hands on instinct and Joshua cried out, his ears splitting as the cavern erupted in a thunderous explosion. And before any of them could react further, three more soon followed.

BOOM! Boom! boom!

Joshua's knees wobbled, yet the ground did not shake. He blinked yet again. What? There had been an explosion. Four of them! He was sure of it. Even if they had not sounded as destructive as they had, they should have been close enough to feel some sort of shockwave. He didn't know why he noticed this insignificant detail. Not while all the chaos unfolded around them. But, how? His body knew what should have happened. Yet, again, the reality stood in sheer contradiction of exactly what reality should have been construed. All with the same catalyst right at the center. What the nether was that peasant?!

"Oy! He's gettin'away! Move it you lot!" He heard Cinthia cry out from the doorway before her figure darted off to the left.

"Blocking nether…" Rupert growled before shaking his head and charging in after her.

Shephard muttered something unintelligible before quickly following behind in pursuit. Only Duncan and himself hesitated. Their eyes met and behind Duncan's wide eyes, Joshua caught recognition behind those rattled pupils. He noticed it too. And it shook him far more than the nonexistent shock from the explosions.

Joshua grit his teeth. "What are you looking at? Come on!" He ordered, seizing Duncan by the wrist and pulling him along to catch up to the others.

Duncan didn't put up any resistance and followed close behind as they made their way past the busted out door frame. He only grabbed a glimpse of the surrounding dwelling, but it was more than enough to add to the sense of confusion and troubled feeling slowly growing in the back of his mind. Had someone lived in this cave before him? How was it so furnished and how had it been done without anyone knowing and reporting it. All of this was built without the crown's knowledge or recognition. And good Notch, was that obsidian embedded into the wall?!

How?

That word kept repeating over and over again in his head like a broken record in a jukebox. Through the hole blasted into the adjacent wall. Through the massive, jagged tunnel that had been forcibly carved out just mere moments ago. Through the darkness as they chased the fleeting glow of the torches lit by his comrades and their echoing shouts as they closed in on their target. It never stopped, as much as he tried to smother it.

Doubt crept into his mind like a silverfish etching itself into stone. Would it be enough? Would they be enough to take down this person? No, this thing! This being that seemed to break every rule, that defied all known preconceptions of natural law or magical capability. This peasant that built up an entire town in less than a week! Despite his brain telling him there had to be something else, some other explanation for everything he'd witnessed from this person, he could not find one. Were they even dealing with a villager? A mob? Were they dealing with some sort of new god?!

"Aaaaugh!"

A resounding cry echoed off the curved tunnels from further within and Joshua felt his stomach flop. Who was that? Shepherd? Rupert? Which one had he gotten to? Ahead, the faint glow they'd been following had now stopped just around the next bend. Joshua swallowed shakily and drew his blade. Their plan had failed. Blaze it all. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen!

However, his thoughts were soon silenced. When he caught up, he saw something he never thought he'd witness. His adversary on the ground, an arrow lodged into his left shoulder. Cinthia stood off to the side, another arrow already notched and ready to fire if he moved. He didn't. He remained on the cold, rocky floor. Kneeling. Injured.

Bleeding.

Just like that, everything seemed to shift.

"Heheh…Hahaha!" He smiled. A god? Hah! What had he been thinking? He couldn't help himself. A few chuckles escaped his throat. What a fool he had been. Of course he wasn't some sort of divine being. Whatever logical explanation there was to explain all this, well, it mattered not. He'd been wise to implement poison into Cinthia's arrow. Somehow, this man may have been durable to explosions and external attacks. But not even the toughest of men could fight an external battle against an internal antagonist.

"So, you are mortal after all." He chuckled, his low tone echoing off the surrounding walls. "How unfortunate for you to hit a dead end." His dark haired rival looked up at him with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. With a heavy gasp and pained groan, he began to rise, his body trembling fiercely as it fought to get up. Good. "Cinthia." He ordered.

No sooner than he spoke her name, another arrow whizzed past and struck the peasant's other shoulder, sending him spiraling onto the floor as he cried out in pain. Joshua watched as he struggled. Laying on the floor, arms and legs tensing up before convulsing as he writhed about on the cavern floor. His heavy breathing, grunts, and yelps rang out in Joshua's ears like music. That pain, that feeling of despair and helplessness as waves upon waves of agony washed over him when the roles had been reversed in the not so distant past. That this boy was feeling the exact things he felt a few days prior. That was what made it so enjoyable.

"Joshua! That's enough!"

Shephard's commanding tone booming throughout the enclosed space was enough to make him grit his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and run him through as he heard his heavy footfalls approach. But, as much as it irritated him, he knew he was no match for him when it came to combat. Not head to head. Instead, he turned to face him, hands held up by his shoulders. "What? The king's orders were to bring him in alive." He said, grabbing the tightly bound rope attached to his belt and holding it out towards Shephard. "He's still breathing. I was simply making sure he could not put up any resistance."

Shephard glared at him and the look made his blood boil. He felt his fingers twitch. No, not yet. Joshua waited until Shephard snatched the rope from his hands, moving past and kneeled down next to their fallen foe. He waited for him to get to work, wrapping the rope tightly around his wrists. Waited for his armor to rear up just that tiny bit. Enough to allow that slim opening, that tiny crack of exposure between the plates to present itself. Carefully, quietly, he reached down towards his boot.

"Alright," Shephard announced as he did the final knot. "Now, let's-Aaugh…gahugh…!"

Shephard's raspy gasp, both from surprise and pain as Joshua thrust his hidden blade straight into his lower spine, oh how it rang in his ears. "You really should have watched your own back, instead of his, Shephard." He whispered with a pleased and wicked grin.

Watching as Shephard's face warped from both the pain and shock, to surprise, then disbelief, and finally, realization. Horrid, satisfyingly sweet realization. "Y-You…t-traitor..!" Shephard gasped out in between breathes. His head swiveled around desperately towards the others. His supposed 'brothers in arms'. "W-What…W-What are you doing…? G-Get him…! S-Subdue him…! T-That's…that's an order-agha…!" He toppled over, spiraling over besides their now bound prisoner, knocking into him and sending them both grunting and groaning to the harsh stone floor. What could he say? His boot just couldn't help thrusting into that stuttering fool's back. Shame though, he'd somehow missed the blade to drive it deeper in.

Strolling up besides him, he knelt down just far enough to grab a handful of Shephard's hair, yanking it up, another cry resounding from the former esteemed member of the Royal Guard. "Look around you Shephard." He grinned, turning his head towards each of the group. "Not one of them is going to help you." He whispered, pulling Shephard's head back until their eyes met once again. "Not one of them is loyal to you. All of them have pledged their allegiance to me. And you, are now expendable."

"Y-You…! W-Won't get a-away with this…J-Joshua…T-The king…" Shepahrd sputtered, his speech interrupted by another loud grunt as Joshua shoved his head down, a resounding smack echoing lightly around the cavern.

"The king?" He let out a laugh, thoroughly amused that Shephard still believed the power of the crown held any threat to him now. "Yes, well, it will be such a shame to inform him of the tragic events that unfolded here today." He said, stepping over Shephard's hunched form. On his hands and knees. Struggling to rise, struggling even harder to breathe. So weak. So powerless. "How our little band was ambushed in the caves by both our assailant and a band of wild mobs." Kneeling down, his hand grasped around the hilt of his dagger and with a gleeful smile, he yanked it out. The deep, resonating wail that erupted from Shephard's throat gave him such satisfaction that it was almost worth putting up with him for the entirety of their journey here. One that he was about to put an end to. Much to his delight. But, there was still one last thing he needed to hear. "But worry not Shephard, there's no need to despair," He said, raising the dagger up high above his head. "You'll be seeing your king soon."

Just as he was about to drive the blade into his skull, he heard a sudden guttural yell and caught sight of a blurred figure rushing at him from the left before he was knocked clean off his feet, tumbling over with a stifled grunt. Shortly after, a high pitched whistle rang out through the enclosed space, followed by a different, deep cry. His eyes wide with rage, Joshua turned his head with a growl of his own, spotting the one he'd intended to come and kill on his knees, clasping at his other shoulder with clenched teeth.

Joshua quickly rose to his feet, striding up to his fallen enemy and sending a hard kick into his stomach with the tip of his boot. "You insolent bastard!" He snarled, broken glass crunching underfoot as he sent yet another raging kick towards the man's hunched form. The action seemed to have more effect than he realized, his injured form bouncing across the smooth floor with satisfyingly hard thumps. Joshua could only smile. Cinthia's poison arrows had a greater effect than he thought and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take advantage of that.

"Not so tough now, are we?" Joshua taunted, grabbing the boy by the arm and yanking him roughly to his feet. Only to drive a steel-plated gauntlet into his chest. The peasant let out a heavy, surprised gasp as he felt the air leave his lungs and Joshua followed it up with another blow to the side of the man's head. His enemy cried out and stumbled around in a desperate attempt to keep his balance, blood dripping from the side of his face where he was caught by one of the gauntlet's sharp edges. But he didn't fall, much to Joshua's disappointment.

"Butting into things that don't concern you." *Joshua spoke, following his sentence up with a third heavy hit. "Making me return home in such a humiliating state!" He yelled, his voice raising, the anger that had been boiling in his veins now coming out in full force as he continued to beat upon the one who had caused him so much trouble. So much maddening pain and suffering. To the future king! "You're nothing! You hear me?! Everything you've done, I'll reduce it all to ashes! Oakwood? I'll have it razed to the ground! There will be nothing left!" One final hit sent his opponent staggering backwards, but his progress was soon halted as he smacked against the unforgiving edge of the cavern's wall. By now, Joshua felt his hands ache and throb lightly. He had shown no restraint in his volley and that was resulting in a rather discomforting feeling throughout his fingers. One that this man did not deserve to give him.

Unsheathing his sword again and letting the ring echo as he slowly advanced towards the hunched figure that used to be his tormentor. Originally, he had planned to capture him and have him be brought to one of his rural estates. Where he could prolong this man's suffering for as long as his body would allow. But not now. Now the only thing he desired was to observe the look in his eyes as the life slowly faded from them. With the sapphire hilt of his sword buried up into the man's chest. By his hand.

"Why…?"

Joshua halted, the question catching him a little off guard. Along with the fact that he was able to speak at all.

"Why…do all this? Does she really…mean that much to you?" The peasant wheezed, clutching his stomach as he cavern's back wall for support.

Joshua couldn't help the bubble of laughter that rose from his stomach and soon escaped up to his lips. The low, deep chuckles that soon escalated into brazen and unrestrained bouts of howling echoed throughout the stone tomb were enough to surprise even him as he got caught up in his own hysterics. Like he would ever go through all this trouble for some woman! For some petty harlot that had managed to charm him many moons ago. She was but one of many that he kept for pleasurable enjoyment on his travels, but he would never go this far had she decided to take another for herself. It wouldn't have been necessary.

No, this was purely personal. But the idea that this peasant thought that this was simply a crime of passion simply amused him to no end. How very plain.

"You think this is about her? About some common, seamstress trollop in some rural, trivial backwater town?" He chuckled, raising his sword so the tip rested ever so lightly underneath his captive's chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

Hmm. How disappointing. His eyes were sullen, sunken, drooping to the point where it seemed like all of his effort was focused on keeping them open. Seeing his former foe so weak and powerless did give him a sense of pride in knowing that he was the cause. But, sadly, it appeared that fear and despair were no longer in his capabilities to feel. Not exactly the result he's desired, but this would be penance enough.

"No, this is punishment for the disrespect and insult to the future king." Joshua lowered the blade and pulled back. "And once I've dealt with Argus, I want you to know that this town will burn. With Alice and everyone else in it!" Without another moment's hesitation, Joshua thrust his arm forward, eager to plunge the diamond infused steel through the man's gut.

Clink..clink…clink…!

I-Impossible!

The sound of his sword striking roughly against the cavern's rigid, unforgiving surface was all he had time to register before he felt a strong, vice-like grip on his arm. Before he time to react, he cried out as the appendage twisted unnaturally, causing his grip on his weapon to fail. His sword clattered noisily to the ground and before he could shout to the others to help him, he found himself spun around with an arm wrapped tightly around his neck. His words were choked back into his throat and he froze.

"All that really fucking hurt, ya know…" His spine tingled and his blood turned to ice as his mind flashed back to the previous week's events. The boy's almost unnatural deep voice that was made even worse as his words reverberated among the acoustics of the enclosed space.

"H-Ho-" His assailant's grip tightened and Joshua raised his free hand franticly up towards the man's elbow, desperately fighting to release the pressure inhibiting him from drawing a proper breathe! Across the room, he heard and glanced over at Cinthia again, who had drawn back her bow and prepared to fire. But this only provoked a chuckle from the man. No, no this wasn't just a man anymore. He could deny that no longer.

"Oh, please. Go ahead. Save me the trouble, miss." He said, words dripping with a mixture of malice and amusement that terrified him to the core. This, only made worse as he felt himself pulled and wrenched upright so his body was nearly completely covering the man behind him. "Just be sure not to miss, huh?"

Cinthia hesitated briefly before gritting her teeth and lowering her bow. Glancing behind him, he was just barely able to catch a glimpse of that accursed smile of his as he watched him lower his opposite hand to his waste. Upon opening his palm, Joshua was astonish to see what looked like a primitive stone button appear from nothing in his hand! What?! Was this villager a magic user?! Impossible! The only humans with that kind of aptitude were witches! Save for his own ability and that of the others endowed with their divine gift of explosive destruction, no man had ever possessed magical talent from his kingdom! Much less any man with a talent for manipulating stone!

"Ah, good choice. Thanks for lowering your weapon." He mused, moving his hand back up to the wall and-Did that button just assemble itself into the wall?! Joshua had barely enough time to process this fact before the man-witch slammed his free fist against it.

Instantly, Joshua was able to discern the repeating sound of multiple clicks and what sounded like stone moving and grinding against itself. Unable to speak, both from the arm still entangled around his neck, and the sheer implausible magnitude of what was happening, Joshua could only look in awe at what transpired. In a matter of seconds, the opening behind which they had come through was cut off as what he could only think was a hidden inner stone wall, dropped and slammed shut, blocking any means of escape. Then, all around them, slot upon slot of stone was cut and then drawn inward and pushed away. Revealing the hulking contents of the holes' inner chambers.

Thump! Clank! Thump! Ggggroooan…

Joshua was sure he wasn't the only one to react in the way he did. His own eyes locked with the eerie, hard and glaring red gaze of the metal monstrosity that he'd only seen once or twice in the castle's courtyard or in high-risk, important meetings between royals. Surrounding them on all sides, were eight of the kingdom's most highly regarded assets.

Iron Golems…

"So, seeing as you all are gathered up here so nicely, why don't we have a little chat?"

Ooookay, so ah, yeah I started writing again. Well, for this story anyway, I guess. I really haven't stopped writing, just well, moved to other things. Which I mentioned in the updates before this I think, but anyway. I decided I was going to try and keep this story going again after so long for two reasons. One, I had some inspiration this morning (Finally got to a few days off work!) after weeks of working on the manga adaptation of this (Which is on DA and you can find again under the character name 'Zyeke'), and two, I think it would be good to get attention to the manga adaptation as well by posting here and continuing the story. Plus, I found it fun to start writing about it again! ^_^. I don't really know how often I will be updating here, as I don't know how much I'll get the chance to write between work, the Channel I'm helping with and all it's projects, and then working on my own life, but I will be trying to update things here at least somewhat regularly again. Also, just in case this story is taken down, I have grabbed and saved all the chapters/files again on my laptop and will continue the story on DA if Fanfiction decides to take it down, but I'd like to keep updating this here since I do still love the platform and would like to continue writing on here .

I am sorry to all my long term fans that may or may not still be around by now and heck after two years, I'd have given up hope that this would be continued if I was a viewer. But I'm going to try and do this again in my spare time. I hope I can still do this story justice after my long absence and that people will be patient and forgive me as well.

Alaso, apologies for the tease, but I think we all knew a fight with Joshua would end too soon anyway, right? I do have something planned in about 4 chapters or so to finally give you all a taste of the action before I get into the actual introduction of the Mob Games once again. In the mean time, I will do my best to keep you entertained through my writing as best I can with the characters and making sure to further expand on the lore and rules/mechanics as perceived by both Zyeke and outsiders.

Thank you all for reading! And now to my favorite part before I have my old, favorite ending phrase!

Review Responses:

Blegar1: Hey there! Yes, Rosa is back and I will be keeping her and using her as a side character that will be involved with the story. And don't worry, Alice will still be relevant too! Shephard is indeed the knight sent to keep an eye on Joshua, and evidently for good reason now, so we'll see how it plays out for him. Thank you for your review and I hope you can forgive the…LONG break, but I still haven't given up on this story despite everything. Hope you enjoy what I can manage from here on though!

V-0-l-D: Man, hard to know what to say, but I'm so glad you kept up with me as I always loved your detailed reviews and thoughts. Much like the other reviewers that did the same. I'm glad you also managed to find the Manga Adaptation on DA and look forward to hearing your thoughts there too whenever you have them. I'll look forward to them greatly ^_^!

MissElectricity: Much like with Void above, thank you for your amazing reviews as well and keeping up with me even after all this time. I'll still do my best to put out quality work here, on DA, and with helping for the Channel, so I hope I can see you and hear from you on whichever platform you may use. It's always great to hear from you too!

Super heavy weapons guy: Thank you so much. I don't know if you'll see this, but I hope so. Thank you for the compliment :).

Guest: Well, ah…sorry it wasn't soon, but here is the actual, real update. Haha…

Oniele: Ah…sorry to disappoint for the lack of a battle, but…I didin't think Joshua was enough of an antagonist or strong enough to really fight Zyeke entertainingly. But I will do my best to make his downfall as enjoyable as I can! There's more than one way to destroy someone after all…. :).

AlienPenguine: Aw…thank you so much! Everything is, ah, well it's going. I find myself much busier than I've ever been before, but I am still trying to take care of myself as well. Hope you're doing well too and hope I haven't disappointed you too much.

Alfred7035: Ahaha…ask and it shall be granted? Thank you though for the compliment and please know your review was another factor in starting me thinking about this story after so long. Hope to hear from you again.

Aaaaand, that's it for the review responses. Until next time!