Author's Notes:

The great majority of this chapter was written at, like, 1am, so I apologize in advance for me missing any errors in the spelling and whatnot.

Also! I would like to apologize about taking… 9 months? It took me 9 months to write 5k words? Geez!

Wow, sorry! I… cannot tell you enough how bad that makes me feel. But I've written this next one and have finally published it. There are also gonna be some changes to my bio very soon, which may include:

A name change, disclaimers, and the removal of some of my stories. At least, until I can focus my efforts on them individually. Also, the device I used to write on kicked the bucket, and due to the change in OS, I no longer have access to some files I had written previously. This actually doesn't affect KOS, but I didn't know where else to whine about it. :P

Now, for the first time in literal months, Reviews!

kevy365, yes, now she can go! :D Hopefully…

cheaz doodles, hello, and thank! I probably should, considering what Darkness did earlier… I'm glad you enjoyed the story thus far! :D

fanzforzfictionz, I know, I'm sorry… thankfully I didn't literally blink out of existence for 3 years before posting this next chapter. :P I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

AlbinoRecord123, thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed what you managed to read!

smol duck, yes, I could post another! And I know it's been a while… I sincerely apologize. I'm already working on the next, so expect it soon. Uh, not too soon though… school and procrastination and whatnot… thank you so much for reading, though!

And now, after so darn long, it's finally time to get on with the story!


Eba's POV

I took a deep breath, standing in line outside of the arena where the tournament was being held. So many of the participants had already been eliminated! I was terrified, but Blight and the rest of my friends helped ease my nerves. The spider sisters, Jack, Sarah, and Adrian were too busy to make it, but the fact that everyone else was here helped a lot. Blight was already with Izabell, so that was… um, not good, but… at least it saved some time. The arena was full of cheering and shouting, and it was so loud, so scary… I would've frozen in place again if Izabelle wasn't holding my hand…

The slime girl was murmuring Blight's thoughts to me, wishing me luck and reminding me to take deep breaths. I… was definitely trying… but I wasn't about to disappoint him. It's just… everything was so loud, all the contestants were so strong, I… I was scared…

Izabell noticed, and smiled. "Hey, it's alright. You did great last time, and you're going to do even better today. I know so, and Blight does too. So… try to relax your nerves a bit, okay?"

I took a couple deep breaths like Blight suggested. "O-okay… I'll try…"

They got settled in their seats, and I hurried off to the participant's area. The angry lady with the clipboard was there again. She nearly threw me down the stairs this time!

"Eba Delgado, right?" she asked me, and I nodded, trying to speak. "Get your gear, you're up in ten. Make it quick." And with that, she started calling names and walking around the room. I blinked, still a bit stunned by her demeanor.

It took me a moment, but I walked over to the wall and took a thin shortsword as my weapon. The weapons and armor were still wood and leather respectively. I sat down in a corner and watched the other participants step out to… um, well, participate. And with each one that went out, the more and more worried I became. I-it was like… like something creepy was keeping me in place, and all I could hear was my own heart pounding in my chest…

I took another couple deep breaths, and looked around. Blight wouldn't have wanted me to be scared in a corner until my turn… I had to make him proud. Taking a deep breath, I decided to try and maybe distract myself with something. Umm… there were 7 other participants in the room… they all looked pretty strong… the clipboard lady came back, and led one of them away. And… she sat down nearby. I hummed softly, and walked over to her, sitting down next to her.

She turned to me. "Not your turn yet, wait for me to call your name."

"O-oh, um, no, I…" I cleared my throat, taken aback and embarrassed by my reaction. "I-I was wondering if… uhm, how you were doing? Cuz… you uh… shout a lot…" I murmured, regretting this terrible idea and wanting nothing more than to shrink forever.

The woman blinked, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Throat's gonna kill me in the morning but this is what I get paid to do so it's fine."

I smiled back, glad she wasn't shouting or biting my head off anymore. "Okay… well, as long as you don't hurt yourself too badly."

"No, I don't," she assured me. "Not like you, anyway, beating each other up with sticks."

I hummed softly. "I really don't like fighting… but… I'm good at it, so I signed up… plus, my friends think I have a good shot at winning."

The lady hums, tilting her head at me. "I think so too, honest. You got hit pretty bad last time you participated, but you still managed to win. If the lords keep giving you wins like that, I'm sure you'll become queen. With a mighty strong headache, but still."

I giggled softly. "Yeah… um… thank you."

"No problem. Also, you're up in two minutes. If you're nervous, let me tell you something: focus on your opponent, not the battle. Alright? Focus on beating the crap out of them. Imagine they've stolen your favorite shirt and they spilled salsa on it."

I blinked at her, and smiled widely. I… wasn't sure if I could do as she asked but… her concern was touching, and it did actually make me feel better. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Take my advice to heart, no more nerves, got it?" she said, getting up. "And limber up, you got a minute thirty."

With that, the clipboard lady walked off, shouting again already. I smiled, my worries and nerves having evaporated. She was a really nice lady once you got to know her a bit. I took a deep breath, and stood in front of the door. I had already stretched and prepared before we set off to the arena, so I was ready there… now it was just a matter of-

"Up next! Eba Delgado and Vick Norren! Step outside, participants! Round of applause for them both, ladies and gents!" the announcer boomed, catching me off-guard. I let out a, um… pretty embarrassing yelp… but then composed myself and stepped out of the waiting area and onto the arena.

I felt… incredibly small, and weak, as many many people started cheering and shouting, and… I-I began to panic… but, thankfully, I remembered to take a few deep breaths, and forgot about the arena. I remembered my friends, and Blight, and the clipboard lady's advice… and the panic slowly faded away. I focused on my opponent: he had… a longsword. He looked limber, which means he'd probably be pretty fast… I took one last deep breath, and listened for the cue to begin.

"...no cheating! That includes using weaponry and potions you were not given before the fight! As well as no poking each other's eyes out and whatnot, alright? Now, participants, are you ready?" the announcer shouted.

My oppon… uh, Vick, I think, nodded in response. I nodded as well, lifting my sword. "Then let the match begin!"

Immediately, Vick rushed towards me, but I just stood there. Something about him running at me like that was… odd, cuz… he didn't look strong enough to simply charge. He had to be up to something, right? I prepared to block a sideways attack, waiting for him. The enderman narrowed his eyes, and swung-in a downwards arc. Surprised, I barely had enough time to block the swipe and even then it nearly knocked me off-balance. I yelped, hopping back once I regained my balance, and focused on blocking every surprisingly strong attack he threw at me.

It was scary, how strong and fast he was! I had to step back with every attack, barely managing to register what was going on. My mind was spinning, trying to come up with something helpful. Vick landed a harsh blow to my side, and the time it took for him to recover from such a strong attack was enough for an idea to come to mind. I got as much distance between us as I could, dodging rather than blocking his attacks. I had to bring up my sword on occasion, to protect myself from swings I couldn't easily dodge.

For a second, I lost focus and took in the sounds of the crowd. They sounded confused, but their cheering was still so loud, and there were so many of them… My little distraction earned me another blow to the side, and I snapped back to Vick. I remembered the clipboard lady's words, and silently promised to focus on my opponent and nothing else. I got back to dodging and blocking, watching Vick as he swung again and again. And, slowly but surely, his blows became more sluggish. I was tired too from taking two hits already, and from all my dodging, but I could tell that he was exhausted.

Without warning, and without thinking, I struck. My sudden change of strategy caught him by surprise! I jabbed forwards, hitting him in the ribs, then I swung in a downwards angle, and after landing those two blows, struck him on the head-b-but I was careful not to hurt him too much! VIck was so stunned that all he did afterwards was blink. The crowd went silent, and terror gripped me as I realized that he hadn't reacted to my attacks at all. But, after a second, he let out a soft groan and fell flat on his back. I gasped, kneeling down to make sure he was okay. And, to the great relief of my horrified little heart, he was only unconscious.

"We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer practically screamed into his mic. "A swift and humiliating end to such a strong competitor! Eba Delgado has bested Vick Norren and will move on to the semi-finals!"

I blinked, looking up at the crowd as they cheered my name. I caught the eyes of my friends, and couldn't help but smile widely at them. They looked so proud! And so happy for me! I was ecstatic! I met the clipboard lady on my way out of the arena, too.

"I told you you could do it," she said with a smile.

I smiled back. "Thank you so much for your advice…"

"No worries, just glad you pulled through okay, unlike your pal Vick," she said with a snicker

I gasped. "Is he okay?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine, medics say he'll be up in ten minutes tops," she assured me. "Now, go on and celebrate with your friends. You've earned it."

I let out a sigh and smiled again, walking up the stairs to the arena's entrance. Everyone was already waiting for me, and they greeted me with plenty of hugs and kind words. It made me so happy! I felt all warm and fuzzy inside… Blight came back to me soon, too, after we were far away enough from the arena, and feeling him, uh… I guess, sort of in my head, was really comforting. Cynthia took us all to her house, and we spent the day eating yummy snacks and talking, Cy even showing us some of the art she drew in her spare time.

It was a lot of fun! We even sent notes to our friends who didn't make it to the event via phantom mail. Any worries about the next part of the tournament evaporated just because I had a blast with everyone… and it made me so, so happy.


Adrian's POV

I stared into a dark alleyway, my hand on the hilt of my blade. The shadows within had many shapes, some which might've been monsters lurking about. I was patrolling the darker sector of the city, with the rest of my unit refueling lanterns and fixing street lights. The shadows did not stir, and no glowing eyes stared back. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and moved on after blocking the alleyway off with a flimsy wooden fence. At least it would keep people from entering it without a second thought. I caught up with my unit shortly after, and knowing they were performing their tasks diligently, I let my mind wander.

I did this often, simply thinking about everything and nothing at all. It eased boredom at times, but it had unsettled me every now and then in the past. There was something I never remembered which caused me a certain unease. I had a happy life before becoming a soldier for the skeleton army. I had been loved. But… I didn't remember who loved me. I couldn't remember any parents, or any siblings, any family at all. I knew I had a happy childhood, I knew I was fell-fed and cared for. But I had no recollection of who cared for and fed me. Who I played with. What my parents did when I was younger.

It was unsettling. The one other thing which twisted my gut as much if not more, were thoughts about Nightflame, the enderdragon. I had no idea how I knew of her. No idea how she spoke to me. Or why it felt like I had lost everything and everyone the moment that link was severed… when Darkness took her life. That feeling of being disconnected from her haunted me for weeks after the war was over. Lila was the only one who would make that hollowness feel better… but it never went away. I mourned her loss for longer than I logically should've. I'm not even an enderman; there was no reason for me to feel this way for a being I had no reason to know about.

And still, it felt like I lost a dear friend when she left. It felt like I had lost the only one truly important to me. But I didn't know why.

My thoughts wandered to a family I couldn't remember, and a beast I had never met but missed dearly. I hid that feeling of despair well, like with everything I wanted to keep close. Even Lila had a hard time telling what I felt from time to time; she had complained about that before. But I-

A shout yanked me from my thoughts, and I whirled in the direction the loud noise had come from. A woman was spitting curses as someone else sprinted away, holding onto a purse. Without hesitation, I chased after them, glad for the distraction from grief and confusion. The thief was quite agile, and fast, but I was not about to let them get away. I swerved around and hopped over obstacles, focused solely on the person I was chasing. They turned to look at me over their shoulder a good few times. They had a rag over the bottom half of their face, but I could tell they were female, maybe in their early twenties. Bangs of coal-black hair poked out from under the brown hood they wore over their head.

I pushed myself further, running faster to catch up. They looked shocked at how quickly I was going, and instead of trying to outrun me, they tried to outsmart me by going down the path with the most bends, turns, and obstacles. This wasn't my first time chasing down a thief, and it certainly wasn't the first time one had tried to outsmart me. Keyword being tried. I didn't let up, easily avoiding everything in our path. They resorted to throwing things at me.

Already starting to panic? I thought to myself, thankful this would be an easy arrest. It was only a matter of time before they would mess up, and sure enough, they tripped on one of the obstacles supposed to be for me. The young woman yelped as she fell flat on her face, and I was on her in a second, pinning her wrists behind her back.

"Stealing while meters away from a patrol was not the smartest idea," I told her, tying her hands and getting her to her feet. "Come on, the nearest police pod isn't far from here."

She huffed and tried to break free, but I held on steadily with a single hand, using my other one to pick up the purse. The woman continued to squirm and struggle, insulting and berating me the whole way to the pod. I didn't mind, and in fact had to hide a smile at some of the things she was saying. 'Nitwitted-est dumfucker', 'pricker', so on, so forth. It was quite amusing. I locked her up, and the rest of my unit arrived with the woman whose purse had been stolen. After confirming her identity with the contents of the purse, I handed it over. "Would you like to press charges?" I asked, as per protocol. "It will take some time to gather the basic information needed to take our thief to court, probably longer than usual due to her behavior."

The woman frowned thoughtfully, and looked over at the cell where the thief was being held. She had lost her fighting spirit, and now was just slumped sadly against the wall, seeming full to the brim of regret. "No, I won't. I'd just like her name once you get it out of her."

I nodded respectfully. "I'll personally send you her information once we have a report written up."

"Thank you," the woman said, leaving shortly after. I took my unit back out, letting the officers stationed at the pod to question our thief so we could finish our patrol. It went over smoothly, with no more hiccups or mishaps. There were a couple families which asked for help, which I provided gladly, whether it be a handful of silver coins from my own pocket or help with repairing their lanterns for the night. I was always willing to aid any citizens which needed it, and encouraged my unit to do so as well. There had been, to my great pleasure, a good few occasions where my troops shared their meals with homeless children, or where they helped the elderly with some mundane tasks.

The day soon drew to a close, and I returned to the castle to rest. I encountered Sarah, Thomas, and Jack in the otherwise empty mess hall. They were sitting together, reading a message by the sound of things.

"'He left him so shocked that it took a moment for the guy to pass out'," the young skeleton king read aloud, chuckling.

Thomas laughed, and Sarah smiled. "That must've been pretty funny to see firsthand."

"I imagine it would be," Jack agreed. "'We missed you all at the celebration we had at one of Eba's friends' house. Hope you can be here for the next one'," he finished reading, setting the note down.

I remembered the tournament being held for the honor of becoming king or queen of the endermen, and walked over. "Did Eba win her second match?"

The three of them turned, and greeted me with smiles, urging me to sit with them. "Yes, she did," Thomas answered.

"She must've been very happy, then," I commented. "Hopefully not as scared as last time."

Jack shook his head. "Izabell wrote that she looked a lot more in control of her nerves and fears, which is very good if she's going to become queen."

Sarah nodded. "She's getting a lot better at it, and I'm sure she'll be a great queen."

"I don't doubt it," I agreed. "It might just take a bit for her to fully control her fears."

"Well, there's plenty of time for her to learn once she's queen," Thomas put in. "And she's gonna learn for sure."

I hummed in agreement. "What are we having for dinner?"

"I asked the cooks to make us pork chop stew with vegetables," Sarah told me. "And I remembered you, so don't worry about missing out on dinner."

"Thanks," I said with a nod.

We continued to speak, even while we were enjoying the quite delicious stew, enjoying our evening together. We eventually got up and went to our separate rooms for the night, bidding each other farewell. I sat and then lay down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling of my room. I had all but forgotten about my thoughts from earlier today. But now that I was alone, in the still silence of the night? Those thoughts came back. I pondered on them for a long while, before finally growing too tired to continue.

I'll find out who my parents were someday, I promised myself. I'll find out why I cared for Nightflame so much… and then finally these questions and thoughts can go away for good.

I pulled the covers over myself, and quickly fell asleep. My dreams featured the enderdragon again, but this time, they weren't haunted. I didn't feel a sense of loss or dread. Instead I felt… comfort. Love. I felt cared for.

I dreamed of something impossible; playing in the rough and rocky moors of the end, running around chorus stalks, while the watchful violet gaze of the enderdragon followed me. I dreamed of a childhood in the darkest realm of the three, surrounded by monster enderpeople and smiling the whole time. But when I woke up…

I realized that none of that had felt like a dream at all.


3rd Person POV

A man made his way over the rough terrain of the nether, holding a bag full of chunks of quartz and carrying a battered old pickaxe. He was heading home to turn in his haul and equipment, wanting nothing more than to finally enjoy some downtime at the bar for the weekend. Unbeknownst to him, several eyes were watching the man, most of them full of malicious intent. A spider and two pigmen followed a blaze woman as they eyed the miner from afar. She felt very guilty for what she was about to do-but her sense of fear outweighed her sense of guilt, and thus she felt like she had no choice.

Trudy turned to the three monsters under her charge. "Immobilize him and knock him out. We'll need at least three of them, so make sure he won't wake up until after we've brought him to Lord Darkness."

The pigmen nodded, and the spider hissed. They began making their way towards the oblivious man, using the terrain to hide their approach. As they moved further and further away, every bone in Trudy's body screamed for her to run. To get away. To sprint towards the nearest mob city and lock herself up in a hotel room. To hide and wait until everything, every horrible thing, went away for good. But the blaze woman steeled herself, and she stood her ground. She only had one chance. A single golden opportunity. And she wasn't about to squander it.

The miner was apprehended without a hitch. The spider wrapped him up in a cocoon, and one of the pigmen threw him over a shoulder to carry him. The four of them went on, eventually coming across another man sharpening a gruesome sword, pouches of money sitting next to him which were definitely stolen. Trudy ordered he be captured too, feeling less guilty with this one but disgusted with herself nonetheless. He put up more of a fight, but the skilled pigmen took him down eventually, and he was soon wrapped up and draped over a shoulder.

It took a while, making Trudy feel even more skittish and antsy, but soon, they came across a woman. She was carrying a bow and a quiver, likely looking to take down magma cubes or ghasts for one hunting guild or another. Trudy's nerves were shot at this point, and she had to clear her throat a couple times. This was it. This was her one chance. It was time to claim that golden opportunity and milk it for all it was worth. No turning back. No do-overs. It was now or never.

Trudy turned to the monsters and, as firmly as she could, issued the order. "Fetch."

The pigmen and spider rushed over, the former slowed by the weight they were carrying. Trudy's body screamed for her to run once more, and this time, she listened. The blaze woman began running away from their previous hiding spot, and immediately, the huntress noticed her. Trudy's heart sank and then shattered, her eyes widening as they met the other woman's. She had barely made it a few meters and already she had fucked it up. Her golden opportunity melted and made a mess on the floor. It was over. The monsters would realize what she had been trying to do and she'd be...

The huntress then noticed the monsters coming at her, and she grimaced, taking her bow out. With amazing accuracy and speed, she began peppering her assailants with arrows. The monsters struggled to get close, seeming too busy to notice Trudy. She was still frozen in place, unable to move due to her feelings of defeat and despair. Then, the woman shouted at her,

"Run!" she said, beginning to make her way towards Trudy, having kept the monsters at bay. "Closest city's that way! Move!"

Trudy blinked, and turned to stare at the monsters. She could see as their eyes narrowed, the pigmen yanking arrows from the bodies while the spider struggled to scuttle after the huntress. The blaze woman stared, frozen once more. Here was another chance. An opportunity to run and hide. The monsters wouldn't be able to catch up. They were slowed by wounds and precious cargo. She could run from them.

But she couldn't run from Darkness' endermen. She couldn't run from his wrath. She couldn't hide from his evil gaze. So she came to a heartbreaking realization, and a decision. There would be no running away. She couldn't leave like this; she'd be hunted down, and eventually found. So Trudy did what she felt would be the only way to stay alive.

As the huntress reached her, aiming to take her hand and lead her away from the monsters, the blaze woman kicked out and made her trip. The huntress yelped, and hit the rough terrain with a thud. Trudy held her down, shouting for the monsters to hurry. The blaze woman did her best to ignore the voice of the huntress, and her distressed, confused, and angry questions. Why did you do that? What are you doing? Why aren't you running? Why?

The monsters arrived soon and knocked the huntress out before the spider wrapped her up in a cocoon. Then, four of them dragged themselves back to the large cavern they set out from. Trudy felt hollow inside. She was beyond terrified at this point. Her golden opportunity… was no more than a dream. Even if she did get away, Darkness would find her. She was sure he would. So… all that was left was to play along. And hope, pray, for an opportunity to slip away unnoticed. To run when no-one was looking and hide, hide far away from that… thing which she took orders from.

Trudy took a deep breath when they arrived at the cavern. All she had to do was play along… play along until a better opportunity came by.

Something deep inside Trudy told her that no opportunity would come. Her fate was sealed. It was over. She blew her only chance to run away. That feeling stuck with her even as she lay down to sleep. She saw him in her nightmares. And in every one of them, he was the last thing she ever saw.


3rd Person POV mkII

There was a small smile on the demon's face as he watched his 'pet' eat. The beast had grown dramatically in a short amount of time, becoming more ravenous as the hours ticked by. Soon, it would be capable of more destruction than any being could fathom. He could almost hear the screams of terror already. Footsteps let the unholy being know of an approaching monster, and he turned to face his newest second in command.

The small zombie pigman gave him a bow. "You asked for me, my liege?"

"I did, Ivar," he confirmed, staring at him. "I trust you have acquired a report from the monsters Trudy took with her on a hunt."

Ivar nodded. "I did indeed, sire. The third of them was quite squirmy and caused damage to the monsters. They reported having a suspicion that Trudy would help it escape, but she managed to pin down the escapee for apprehension."

Darkness hummed softly. "Is that so?"

"That is what your monsters reported," the pigman answered. "They also reported that she did nothing to help the hunting efforts except for the capture of the third."

The demon turned back to the window from which he could see his hydra. "That is good to know. I have another question for you, Ivar."

"Anything, my lord," the monster said, walking closer.

"Trudy," Darkness began, pausing for a moment. "What do you think of her?"

Ivar tilted his head, thinking. "She is inefficient and egocentric. Not to mention weak-willed and worthless in a fight. She has also proven to be unpredictable in the past in certain scenarios, especially where a fight-or-flight response is required. All in all, she does not seem properly suited for her current role."

The demon said nothing, simply staring out the window. After a moment, he turned back to his second in command. "And her loyalty? What are your thoughts on that?"

Humming again, the pigman gave that a thought. "Her loyalty was tested during this hunt, and she proved to be a… worthwhile asset. However, I do not believe that a single action is enough to prove that she is truly loyal. It seems to me that Trudy is much like a wild animal, and will do whatever it is she needs to do to remain alive. Therefore, her loyalty can never be assured."

Darkness nodded slowly. "Thank you, Ivar. That is all."

Ivar gave him one last bow. "A pleasure to serve, my liege."

Then he walked away, leaving the demon alone in his chamber. He had come to a conclusion long before now, but was merely having fun torturing the blaze woman. She had been a good second-in-command as well; ruthless and stubborn. But over time, her mental state began to deteriorate, and he could tell now that every little sound would make her jump out of her own skin. He had found the change, however unfortunate, quite amusing. Thus he summoned Ivar, to take over her duties so Darkness could continue to enjoy watching her squirm.

Still, as time went by, he began to notice another development. She was planning on running away. As if. He teased her with potential escape attempts, always ordering endermen to tail her and her monsters whenever they went out to hunt. Still, she was smarter than he gave her credit for, and never took any of those opportunities. But, sadly for her, his patience had come to an end. She had not only outlived her purpose, but had also become quite boring. Soon it would be time to finally be rid of her.

Until then, he thought to himself, smirking. I get to enjoy every nightmare she has of me.

And then I can pick out which one of those deaths will be the most fun.


Author's Notes:

I… honestly? It felt good to write out a full chapter again. I had to scrap and rewrite it… one and a half times, kinda, before finally getting back into the swing of things. But I had a lot of fun writing the chapter out! It also happened to go just a bit past the 5k word limit, which is always good!

I had a lot of fun with the fight scene, and I hope I did well enough with conveying Trudy's despair and indecisiveness. Also! I hope you enjoyed that little tidbit of lore on Adrian. I did say I wanted to give him more time under the spotlight, didn't I? :P

You're gonna have to wait if you want more of that. :)

Anywho! I had a blast with this, and hopefully you did too! Thank you so much for your time, attention, and most of all, your patience. I hope you have a wonderful day! :D

~ LeMafiaKreb

P.S, I promise it won't take me another 8 months to finish writing the next one.