Chapter 4
The Meeting with The Creator
In the morning sunlight, Steve was already out the door and venturing into the oak and birch forests around his house. He was...doing something referred to as "stress gathering," which is when a player gathers a bunch of materials and kills a bunch of mobs and monsters for no good reason other than being bored or stressed out. He didn't understand quite why he was so nervous about his meeting with Notch, but he knew that he would be thankful for it in the long run.
There was so much they needed to discover together, so many questions that needed to be answered... Steve was desperate to know what exactly was going on between Herobrine and him. And he believed that Notch might be able to help.
After a few hours of hunting around the Overworld, Steve finally decided that it was time he should make his way to Notch's place. It was difficult to get there because of the security, so Steve had to run a few codes and self identification tests so he could be allowed access to Notch's realm. It didn't take the adventurer long though, he was used to running the tests to get into Notch's place, for he's visited Notch so many times in the past.
The moment the realm opened, Steve didn't waste anytime jumping into it, wanting to get to Notch as fast as possible now. What will Notch have to say when he first sees Steve? What will he do? Steve was getting more eager by the second to meet with the creator of Minecraftia once more. Notch was his creator as well, he can't forget that.
Steve spawned in front of Notch's old, first castle he created back in the Alpha days that had the huge, red printed banner attached to the front stone wall. His castles were always quite majestic looking and it made one feel inspired as their eyes fell on the complicated designs engraved in the build. Steve always took a few moments to just stare in front of him and admire the architecture. He wished that he could build things as big and as nice as Notch could...but he's never really been interested in building too much, he prefers mining and exploring much more.
Steve nervously walked up the ancient, stone pathway to Notch's castle, pushing open the singular wooden door slowly. Once Steve was inside, he called out, "Hello? Notch? It's me, Steve!"
His voice bounced off of the huge stone walls of the castle, reverberating off the ceiling and echoing down the seemingly endless hallways. It seemed so...quiet...so dark and empty. Doesn't Notch get lonely here? Steve reckons that he does, but he's never asked Notch about it or why his castle was so big. There was a sad, desolate thought Steve once had, in which it might be big because Herobrine once shared it with him and perhaps even built some of the castle in days long, long ago. Steve of course didn't know if this was true, but he strongly believed that it was.
The adventurer walked inside the castle more, deciding to head up a large cobblestone staircase to the upper floor which Notch usually does his work on. The staircase groaned underneath his feet, as if telling Steve how old and untouched it was. The castle smelt of ancient Old Alpha, the air thick with the scent of stone and oak wood. Steve treasured the smell, it made his old memories flood his mind once more.
When Steve reached the top of the cobblestone staircase, Notch was walking towards him, smiling warmly as always. Steve melted when he saw Notch's smile and bunny hopped towards him a bit, embracing him happily.
"Steven..." Notch murmured, his voice soothing and full of wisdom and peace, even at this time.
"Notch...I'm so glad I'm seeing you." Steve spoke emotionally, slowly pulling his arms away from his creator. Notch smiled down at his old friend, his dark brown eyes warm and gentle as they rested upon Steve's face.
"We have much to discuss, Steve, if you may follow me over here." Notch said, whisking his Mojang cape to the side, beckoning for Steve to follow him to his big, oak planked table covered in red carpet. Steve quickly walked to the table, the table in which he recognized in old popular films of Minecraft and developers who talked of change and issue. Steve has sat at this table before, but that was long ago.
Steve sat down on the oak slab that was nearest to the large, stone throne type of object that was placed on one side of the table. Steve watched Notch walk over to the throne and sit in it comfortably, sighing a long sigh that was full of meaning, meaning that Steve didn't quite understand yet. "Oh Steve, what mess have we got to deal with now...am I right?" Notch spoke, chuckling loudly, his eyes shutting in what seemed to be joy of some sort.
Steve looked at the table in confusion after hearing Notch laughing. "Heh...yes...a mess we have to deal with..."
"I'm sorry Steven, this really is no laughing matter. I only find it funny that even after all of these years I still have problems with that old miner." Notch said, sighing as he shifted his weight around in his chair. "Some things never seem to change, am I right?"
"Oh, yes... Yes. Some things never seem to change." Steve stammered, looking down at the table.
Notch turned his head towards Steve, giving his human creation a disappointed look. "Steven, you seem to be taking my words rather seriously. There is no need to be so nervous and real here. We will figure this nonsense out, do not have fear right now."
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in a mixed emotion of anger and worry. "Well, I think I have every right to be fearful and nervous! I don't understand why he is trying to find me! I don't know what he's going to do to me when he gets me!" Steve cried, feeling his eyes suddenly glass over, causing his vision to blur through the small tears. There was no denying it. Steve was terrified.
Notch studied Steve's face for a long time, making Steve grow embarrassed and try to hide his face from the god. Notch swept forward and held Steve in his ancient, wispy arms, mumbling, "My boy, do not cry. You will be just fine out there, you have all of Minecraftia on your side. I will not let him hurt you."
Steve wept in Notch's arms. They held him so dearly, like a fathers embrace. Steve has always yearned for someone to love and touch him, so Notch's touch practically made him break down.
After a minute of sniffing and snorting the tears, Steve mumbled, "I-I think he already knows w-where I am though... I think he's watching me and j-just waiting for the perfect opportunity to come out and grab me..."
Notch squinted. "Why did you say that, Steve."
Steve and gulped and mumbled, "Sometimes at night I will feel a cold draft of wind on the back of my neck. It'll sweep over my skin and then disappear... There's no explanation for it happening unless it...was caused by a...thing."
Notch's arms seemed to tense their hold on Steve. The god then pulled his arms away and sat up straight, his dark brown eyes running all over the walls of his castle in thought. He knew that it was not Herobrine who was causing those cold drafts on Steve. Rather it was an entity. Such as Entity303 or Null. Those two were the only glitched, virus-infected players in Minecraftia, and they were the only ones that could cause cold, powerful winds that rocked through Worlds. Notch had thought that perhaps hackers could create winds of the sort too.
"I do not believe you should worry about those odd winds, Steve. They are not a result of Herobrine's presence in your World. Normally speaking, the winds are caused by entities, glitches, and hackers. Herobrine does indeed emit a cold radiation from his body, but he does not create winds."
Steve suddenly grew very curious of Herobrine's body. He emits a cold radiation? What does it feel like to be standing next to him? Is his overall body temperature cold? Does he not like the Overworld because it's too cold? Is that why he always goes to the Nether?
"I have little to say if there is a hacker traveling around in your World, Steve," Notch spoke, locking his eyes with the human. "But, I will send you off with a weapon you may use to stun hackers and make them un-hackable for a short period time. If you hit Herobrine with this weapon, it will cause him to take damage as well. It may give you time to escape his grasp."
Steve nodded frantically, feeling very relieved that Notch was giving him a powerful weapon. The god's weapons were the best in weapons in the universe of Minecraftia. They could do things that seemed impossible to do.
Notch slowly stood up and swiftly glided towards a stone wall, making it suddenly fall apart, the cobblestone crumbling and disappearing into nothingness. Steve stood up, but didn't dare move towards the secret passage way. He didn't want to invade in Notch's privacy and godly secrets.
When Notch returned out of the darkness of the passage way, he was holding a...stick. It was just an ordinary stick, but...it was enchanted. The purple hues flashed on the stick as Notch held it out to Steve, smiling warmly.
"This stick is extremely powerful, Steve. You mustn't use it on anything except for evil-minded players, understand my boy?" Notch said, looking into Steve's eyes intensely, making Steve feel a little nervous about holding the stick in his hand.
"I understand, Notch...I will only use it for its purpose." Steve reassured the god, taking the enchanted stick from the god's hand. He felt how heavy and hot it was, the beautiful enchanted purple swirls swishing around the base of the stick.
Notch sighed. "Very good. I will also send you off with this paper, Steve."
The god picked up a piece of paper that was laying on the table and wrote down the numbers with his quill: 12418
Notch then folded it up and handed it to Steve, saying, "This is a World, Steve. Those numbers will grant you access to the World. I urge you to go there and name the World 'Lava'. Stay on the World for a little while and report back to me if you encounter anything suspicious to the eye. I will teleport the stick to you once you are there."
Steve shook his head in confusion. "Wait, why? Why do I need to go to this World?"
"That World is where that Nether demon often roams. It is a very old World, it has a rather cold, abandoned feeling to it. There are not many trees, but lots of winding rivers and huge, stone mountains. Herobrine roams there because that World was birthed from Alpha. The old miner prefers the older Worlds rather than the newer. Perhaps if you go there, you may find him and be able to hit him with the stick. If you succeed in doing so, he will recognize the stick's power and come to me, leaving you be."
Steve stared down at the numbers on the paper. Dread seemed to flood his body. He might meet Herobrine. He might stand face to face with the Underworld god. He could die.
Notch gently patted Steve's back, leading him down the stairs of the old castle. "Remember Steve, you are not alone. You have all of Minecraftia on your side."
Steve gulped and nodded, embracing Notch once more. His lips seemed to quiver, he wanted to speak, but he just couldn't. He wanted to tell Notch how scared he was, he wanted to say how much he loved him, but all that came out was a childish whimper.
"I will be right here when you need me, Steve, come back much as you can, I want to know more about these incidents as well. I will come to you once I have learned more as well. I miss you, my wonderful, intelligent child."
Steve's chest swelled with happiness and he whispered, "I miss you too."
Notch took the enchanted stick from Steve's hand. "Go on now, I will teleport the stick to you in the World immediately."
Steve nodded quickly and shut his eyes tightly, pressing his lips together as he exited Notch's World. He quickly set up a new World, filling in the numbers '12418,' for the seed, and 'Lava,' for the name. He spawned into the World, fear pulsing through him. To his right, the purple, enchanted stick lay on the grassy ground. Steve knelt down and clutched the stick to his chest, weeping.
Why can't I just be normal? Why can't I just be left alone like the other players? I wish I wasn't Steve. I wish I wasn't the first human in all of Minecraft. I wish I hadn't been alive in the Alpha days. I wish I was just a normal player...like all of the other players.
I wish I wasn't special.
