Chapter 36 : A deadly discovery.

Hey guys, Agithos here for a chapter that I finally managed to released after a loooooong writing time. Work takes much of my time

Now that it's done and uploded, I hope you will like it.


Meanwhile, Home, Hayden POV

"A...nether star ?" I asked.

"Yes or, at least, a part of it." Charloette replied.

It has been a few days since Yaebi, Cupa and myself went to the Ghast kingdom to stop Menos from his own madness. After we succeeded from doing so, Charloette took the little gem and told us she was going to give it to her best researchers to find out what it actually was. That's why she was here today.

"A nether star ? What is it ?" Ayumi asked.

"Old legends speaks about a one of a kind artefact, created by Herobrine itself. One that could grant power to it's master and would give an exponential amount of magical power. No one has ever seen one in person since the beginning of mob races and the disappearance of the two gods." Yaebi replied.

"Where did your grand-mother found it ?" Cupa asked.

"She didn't found it, it was given to her as a gift by an adventurer who sought to fancy my grand-mother. They became really good friends, even some said they were lovers, but they couldn't marry as he wasn't a noble. Even after they parted ways, she kept the ring with her as a way to remember him. We always thought it was just a ring made of quartz and gold."

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard a few meters next to us, we turned around to see Ari lying on the floor, grunting in pain and holding her forehead. Cupa immediately went to her side with a worried look on her face.

"Ari, are you alright ?" She asked.

"Y-Yes. D-Don't worry about me. I am fine." The spider girl replied as she slowly lifted her head to reveal a face paler than the wool of a sheep and ring darker than coal under her eyes.

"Ari..." Cupa slightly gasped "You can't continue go on like this, you have to sleep or else you will die of exhaustion."

"But...I can't...not when I know...Vanessa is out there." Ari responded with sad eyes. Ayumi rejoined them and put a hand on her friend.

"I am sure she is fine. Mickael will do everything in his power to protect her so they can get back here. I am sure Vanessa wouldn't like to see you in your current state. Please, go to sleep a little, there is nothing we can do right now."

"I..." She tried to argue before sighing "F-Fine, but, I want you to wake me up if she comes back."

"Don't worry, I will !" The skeleton girl smiled as she helped Ari get on her feet and leading her to her room.


Meanwhile, Ashshore, Mickael POV

I don't know for how long I stood there, speechless...well, rather, WE were speechless as Notch was not very talkative either at the moment. The nether star was not doing anything except floating half a meter above the pedestal and slowly turning around itself. Some small parts of it were missing and some cracks could be seen on the surface of the star. After a minute of standing immobile as a bush, I decided to approach the crystal.

"Mickael, don't !" Notch stopped me "This crystal is the cause of the magical remnants. It's too dangerous."

"Don't worry." I replied "I don't think it's a serious threat anymore. Look." I added as I pointed to the nether star which, unlike in the game, was not shining in any way, implying it has lost all of it's power.

Making my way through he large room, I arrived in front of the floating crystal. I wasn't feeling any difference in my body or my mind except a headache but that was du to my fall earlier. Following my braveness...or my stupidity, you choose, I extended my arm to touch the crystal.

"Are you sure about what you are doing ?" Notch asked me, unsure of my choice.

"Not really..." I admitted before adding "...but if this thing is really related to Herobrine's resurrection, it's a precious piece of evidence and, thus, we can't leave it here without surveillance."

"Alright. Be careful though." Notch replied.

I nodded internally and went to grab the nether star. As my fingers were about to make contact with the cracked white surface, the crystal began to shine brightly. Surprised by this, I instantly retracted my arm and took a step back.

"What was that ?" I asked myself "A defense mechanism ?"

"No...more like a magical surge. You need to get out of here, fast !"

"You don't have to tell me twice."

I turned around to run to the hallway. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to do so as the nether star shined even more, blinding me. I just had the time to see more cracks appear on the crystal just before it exploded, engulfing the whole room in white. I suddenly felt nauseous for a few seconds. I felt myself stagger before I fell on the ground.

After a moment, the bright light and my stomach calmed down. I finally opened up my eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL ?"I shouted.

The scenery around me had completely changed. It looked like the same room from before but the walls and the ceilings had been completely cleared of dust and decay. Two torches were lit next to the door I came in. Turning around, I gasped as I saw the nether star, still floating on the pedestal. However, this time, it was shining like an enchanted tool and the holes were no longer there, almost like they never existed in the first place.

"What did you do..." I asked the shining star in my head until I noticed something behind the pedestal "What's that ?"

I tilted my head and went in awe by the massive banner in front of me. It was going all the way from the ceiling to the floor. I slowly walked in front of it to have a better look.

"Notch ? Are you seeing this ?" I asked the god in my head but received no answer "Notch ? Notch, are you there ?"

Still, no answer. I shook my head and stopped trying. I guessed that, whatever that freaking magic star did, it disrupted any contact I had with the old god. Instead, I focused on the banner in front of me. It represented a black skull crossed with stone swords on a deep red background. It seemed to have been made recently.

"Did I travel back in time ?" I asked myself before hearing voices coming toward the room "Shit, I've got to hide !" I then thought.

Slipping behind the banner, I waited as the door of the room opened. Shooting a glace at the person who just entered, I saw two huge men looking quite aged with both of them having big black beards. One had a large sword on his side, he seemed to be a warrior of some sort. The one next to him had a crown on his head. I figured he must be the king of this place.

"So captain, is this what they came back with ?" The king asked.

"Yes, my lord. While we don't fully know what it is, we are certain it holds magical properties." His soldier answered "The scout team swore they could hear it...speak."

"Speak ?" The king raised an eyebrow "How ?"

"We don't know, my lord." The captain replied with a shake of his head. "To be honest, I am sure the scout team just hallucinated."

The king frowned and turned to the soldier.

"Two men could have the same hallucination at the same time but a whole group of twenty soldiers ? I do not believe so." He said before walking to the nether star and placing his face close to the crystal.

"My lord, be careful, it could be dangerous." His captain warned him.

Maybe it was the one thing that allowed Herobrine resurrection. I couldn't allow that even if that meant rewrite the past. I quickly got out of my hiding place.

"STOP !" I shouted as I jumped to tackle the king. To my surprise, neither of them looked at me, nor even reacting to my yell. I learnt the hard way why. A second later, I phased thought the king's body and I ended up rolling on the floor.

"Huh ?" I asked as I got up to see the king still doing his business like nothing happened. As he was inspecting the nether star, I slowly approached him and poked his arm. I finally understood what was happening when my finger entered his body like a ghost "I am not in the past, rather, I am in a vision of the past."

"It is indeed strange." The king suddenly stepped away, surprising me a little "Let's go back to the throne room, I want to personally met the soldiers who were in charge of exploring this castle."

"Yes, your majesty. Anything else ?" The captain asked.

"Yes, I am counting on you to keep this secret within the castle. We must not let the population learn of this and certainly not the other kingdoms." He responded.

"It will be done, my lord." The soldier answered as they exited the room, leaving me alone in it with a lot of questions but with one bigger than the others : What exactly happened inside this room ?

Suddenly, the nether star seemed to shine a big brighter and I felt very nauseous. I had to put one knee on the ground to try and not throw up but it had little effect.

"Soon...very soon..." I heard the star speak with a sort of slightly distorted deep voice before my vision became blurry.

"This voice..." I thought before I fell on the ground and everything went black.

After what seemed like one second, I woke up with a start...and a headache. I looked around to see I was back in the old ruin. I rubbed my forehead to ease the pain.

"Mickael ? Do you hear me ?" I finally heard the old god speak inside of me.

"Yeah..." I responded "I just had a weird vision about this place, when the star was placed here. I tried to talk to you but you wouldn't answer." I then explained.

"From my point of view, you fell unconscious for approximately ten minutes. I couldn't even enter your mind, something was preventing me to do so."

"There was also something else...A voice."

"A voice ?" Notch asked.

"Yes, a voice from someone we both know...your brother."

"Are you absolutely sure of you ?" I could feel the nervouness into his voice. I shook my head and simply replied

"Yes." There was no way I could forget the voice of the old freak who killed me "Let's take the star and try to get back to the girls. They have waited for us long enough."

"About the star..." I turned around and I noticed the star was nowhere to be found on the pedestal "It destroyed itself."

I sighed as I got back on my feet and headed out of the room.


Meanwhile, Ashshore, Vanessa's POV

"Entry 27 : It talked ! It talked ! The nether star talked, like the scout team described. It wasn't an hallucination. It was true. It is an sentient gem. I can't imagine all the knowledge it could give us, the nether skeletons, on the nether and the overworld. Maybe we could even discover another dimension thanks to it."

Shara turned a page before continuing.

"Entry 30 : It has been a week since it had been discovered by the scout team inside this strange mansion. We have new informations about what this being is. It said it doesn't have a name and was sealed in this crystal a really long time ago...It said it was a very powerful being once and now it had been reduced to just a soul inside a nether star. I hope we can learn even more from this being...whatever it is."

"Do you think it might be him ?" I asked the silverfish girl, remembering the mighty evil god that was currently trying to exterminate us from the surface of Minecraftia.

"While there is no definitive proof, it is safe to assume it is him." She responded with a sigh before flipping a few more pages of the diary " Entry 34 : The being talked very little about what happened before it was sealed, occasionally mumbling about a betrayal leading to his seal. We tried to learn more, in vain. He quickly changed the subject about wanting to be free from this crystal. However, it's from the scouting team we discovered the most important information of the decade, maybe even the century. According to them, the mansion itself didn't seem to be in the nether itself. They talked about a massive void around the mansion. Maybe it is really in another dimension. We should send them the team back for further investigations."

"Another dimension ?" I asked, with an eyebrow raised as Shara's eyes were sparkling "Really ?"

Thinking I heard something, I turned around but I couldn't see anything other than the massive bookshelves of the library. I frowned and took a step forward.

"Vanessa, where are you g..." I silenced her. I could have sworn having heard someone walking at the other side of the room.

I quickly joined the source of the sound and peeked from around the corner to reveal an open iron door.

"Mickael ?" I called but I received no answer "Mickael ?"

I began to panic, something was in the room with us and we didn't know if it was friendly or not. I stepped backward but I bumped into something hard. My eyes opened wide and I prepared myself to see one of those monsters. I slowly turned around and my mouth was quickly covered with something. I wanted to cry but I immediately felt anger growing inside of me upon seeing who was really in front of me.

"Hey Vanessa." A human I knew too well spoke up with a stupid grin on his face.

"You...JERK !" I replied as I slapped his hand away from my mouth. Shara was behind him trying to contain his laughter "I am going to make you pay for that one !"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." He chuckled before he went back to being serious "So, did you find something interesting ?"

"Yes !" Shara said, seemingly really excited "We found the journal of the head librarian. It seems they found a nether star which, I suspect contained the soul of the god. Can you believe it ?"

"I do...because I have seen it." Mickael replied before telling us about the vision the nether star gave him. Shara's eyes beamed up. She must have thought about all the knowledge this crystal could give about the nether skeleton's kingdom during it's time there.

"Where is it ? Did you bring it with you ? I need to see it."

"Sorry, it was destroyed by the time I regained consciousness." Mickael replied and the silverfish girl looked at her feet, quite disappointed "I think we found what we were looking for. We should get out of here and rejoin the team outside."

As we were walking back toward the exit, a piece of paper fell at Shara's feet.

"Huh ?" She picked it up and unfolded it. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide open and her hands began to shake.

"What is it ?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's-It's a map." She answered "It must have come from the journal."

"And where does it lead ?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"It seems to indicate the location of a sort of mansion, surely the one where they found that nether star." She answered with excitement into her voice.

"Then we better go back quickly and report to Blazette and Korian about our discovery." Mickael looked at the both of us and we nodded. Then we hurried outside the room by the way Mickael came from. Turned out there was a way to access the library from the first floor.

We returned to the 'outside' world and, after a few minutes of walking, we finally made it back to the expedition camp. The endermen were still exploring each and every house for clues. As soon as we entered into Korian line of sight, she dismissed the skeleton archer she was talking to and went to us.

"Glad you made it all back in one piece, especially you...Shara." Korian frowned as she began to pull on her ears "You left without even telling me. I was deadly worried. I have searched everywhere for you until one of the guards told me he saw you running away with a human toward the castle." She scolded the little silverfish girl.

"Ow ow ow. I am sorry. I am sorry." Shara replied, clearly in pain...much to my enjoyment to be honest. That little brat deserved it for everything she put us through.

"You better be." The pigman zombie captain girl let her friend go "That aside, did you find something useful ?"

"Yes." Mickael replied as he showed her the map "A map leading to a mansion where they discovered a nether star some time before going extinct."

"A nether star ?" Korian responded, surprised "Are you sure about what you are saying ?"

"Yes, we even found a journal stating so." Shara answered "We think Herobrine's soul could have been inside this whole time, waiting for his moment."

"There is only one way to find out." The captain responded as she took a look at the paper "According to the map, the mansion is a few hours away from Ashshore. If we leave now, we should arrive before we have to take another break." She thought for a moment before she continued "I'll make an announcement. Pack your things, we will leave in a few minutes."

"Oh come on..." I thought, grumbling a little. My legs were killing me and I really wanted to take a nap.

"Alright, let's go Vanessa..." Mickael sighed. I guess he was like me at this moment.

A few minutes later, everyone was gather outside the city, ready to travel for the old mansion. The nether was as hot as ever and I could feel every step become more and more heavy. Sweat was dripping down my face and I was breathing loudly. Seeing me in such a state, Mickael searched in his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water before handing it to me.

"Here, take it." He said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks." I replied, drinking almost half the bottle in a single gulp, nearly choking myself in the process.

"Alright everyone, let's move." Korian spoke up in front of her troops

That being said, we began to walk to the mansion. It was going to be quite long.


A few hours later, The Nether, Mickael POV

"God damn it. When do we arrive ?" I though as I walked with the pace of a snail and I wasn't the only one.

"Are we there yet ?" Shara asked to the blaze girl floating above us. What I wouldn't do to be in her place at this moment, being able to fly and to handle heat as well as her.

"I don't know, I can't see anything." Blazette replied.

"Strange..." Korian observed her map "the map says we should be able to see the mansion at any moment. Keep looking."

It has been three hours since we departed from Ashshore. Everyone was tired and was longing for a break. Vanessa was on my back, asleep. Her legs finally gave out approximately halfway between the city and our destination. We were supposed to have arrived to the mansion a few minutes ago but it was still nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe it was destroyed or suffered the passage of time ?" One of the endermen suggested.

"No." Shara shook her head "From what I have learnt from the journal, the mansion was old but not enough be reduced to rubble in just a few hundred years."

"Then, where is it ?" The enderman replied "There is nothing here. Are you sure your map is not fake ?"

"No, I am sure it is real." Shara responded, a little louder than before.

On my back, I could feel the sleepy-head finally wake up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her.

"Are we there yet ?" She grumbled, not seeing the mansion we were supposed to arrive to.

"Well, I suppose so." I answered, unsure "Anyway, get down from my back, it's starting to get heavy."

"No way. I am comfortable up there." She pouted.

"Vanessa, if you are not on your feet within five seconds, I won't give you piggyback rides anymore."

"Fine..." She grumbled before climbing down from my back onto her feet. She then noticed Shara and the enderman arguing "What's up with these two ?" She asked.

"According to the map, the mansion should be right there, in front of us but, as you can see, there is nothing here." I explained.

Hearing my response, she took a look around the scenery. Then, she sighed and looked at the giant cliff next to us.

"How can you be so dumb ?" She mocked me as she started to climb on the moutain using her spider powers.

"Excuse me ?" I was dumbfounded by that sudden insult. It was common for us to often throw some light one at each other sometime. However, this time, I had no idea why.

"I am not talking to you specifically, Mike." She rolled her eyes as she seemed to search for something on every blocks and into tight spaces. For a moment, everyone was quite, wondering what the little spider girl was doing.

"Wait a minute, could it be that..." My thoughts were interrupted by Vanessa.

"AH ! There you go. Come here, you little..." She said as she seemed to pull on something. We all heard a click of a lever and, a second later, a large passage began to open inside the mountain, leaving most members of the expedition with their mouths agape and eyes wide open. As for our little spider girl, she climbed down the mountain with the most casual expression on her face.

"H-How did you..."

"Chapter 21.3, page 823." The spider girl simply interrupted the young silverfish girl while raising her hand in front of her.

Shara frowned in front of such a lack of civility before realizing what she actually meant. The silverfish girl quickly pulled out Vanessa's book and opened it at the indicated page before reading it at loud.

"As Silk arrived at her destination, she was surprised to see nothing but emptiness. The castle wasn't there, a big cliff was at its place." She skipped a few lines "She finally found it : a button, hidden inside one of the many blocks scattered around the place."

She turned to Vanessa.

"Are you seriously telling me you knew there was a hidden switch just because you read a FANTASY BOOK ?" Shara said as she raised the book in the air.

"Well, I wasn't really sure there was something there but I had to try." The cave spider smiled as she shrugged.

"You are a genius, Vanessa." I arrived from behind and stroke her hair.

"Yeah, I know, I know." She crossed her arms as Shara quietly grumbled in front of her.

"Come, let's enter." Korian approached the, now opened, passage.

The soldiers gathered behind her. I could see the nervousness into their eyes, anxiously looking around them. I understood what they felt like : There is no feeling like diving deep into the unknown. Even myself, right, was unsure if my knowledge of the game would be of any use here. The passage was large enough for the group to pass in close formation and it was long enough we couldn't see the end.

"Stay on your guard." The captain spoke up as she unsheathed her sword.

"Yes captain." Some soldiers replied, doing the same thing.

Nightfall drawn out at my side, we all progress further and further down the passage. The walls were made of nether bricks blocks, making the hallway pretty dark. We had to light up a few torches so we could even see past twenty meters. Some were even cracked, showing the passage of time.

"Are you seeing this ?" Shara spoke up as she approached one of the blocks. She blew the dust away to reveal some kind of marking on the block.

Myself as well as Korian, Vanessa and a few others approached the young silverfish girl. The marking showed two men flying above a crowd seemingly waving at them.

"Is that..." Vanessa began.

"Notch ? Yes, I think so." Shara continued "But that would also mean the one next to him is...

"Herobrine." We heard Blazette say, a few meters away from us.

We all turned around and saw her, floating in the air in front of a giant statue' face made entirely of quartz. The massive statue had hair and a beard. However, the eyes were devoid of pupils, leaving only a giant white ball inside the eye sockets.

"For the love of Notch..." Korian stood speechless.

"Notch...where are we ?" I asked him, hopping he could provide an answer.

"I don't really know..." He replied, making me sigh before he continued with a more serious voice "However, I must have came here at some point in my life. This evil energy I am feeling is very familiar."

"Another remnants ?"

"No." I felt him shake his head "This energy is very much active. You have to be very careful about what you will find here."

"Don't worry, 'careful' is in my nature." I replied with a smile before I heard him chuckle inside of my head "What ?"

"Strange...My time with you taught me otherwise."

"I am full of surprise, you know ?" I responded.

"I can't deny that. Just don't rush into the unknown."

That being said, I returned my attention to my surroundings. Blazette was inspecting the ceiling while Korian was telling her group to stay on their guards. As for Vanessa and Shara, they were still looking at the markings on the wall.

"This is fascinating." The little silverfish girl spoke up as she pulled out a feather, some ink and a piece of paper to draw the mark.

"Alright, let's go everyone, there is no need to stay here any longer." Korian said as she began to walk further into the hallway.

Blazette, now that flying was useless floated back into the group, right next to me.

"You are awfully silent, hot stuff." She said with her arms crossed "Is something wrong ?"

"I have a bad feeling about all of this." I simply replied "Who knows what we are going to find at the end of this hallway ?"

"You know as well as me we can't go back now. We need answers if we want to effectively fight this...invasion." She frowned.

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"Are you alright, Vanessa ?" Shara asked behind us "Vanessa ?"

I turned around and the my little spider girl friend on one knee, holding her head and groaning in pain. She wasn't the only one though, one by one, the other members of the group began to suffer the same condition. A second later, Korian place a hand on the wall and the other one on her forehead.

"Notch, what is happening to us ?" I asked him just a fraction of a second before a stinging pain erupted in my brain "Is the air poisonous ?"

"No, it's something else." He said before adding "It may sound crazy but I believe you are being transported somewhere ?"

"What do you mean 'transported' ?" I asked as my vision became blurry and distorted. Despite this, I could distinguish some faint light coming from the end of the hallway "EVERYONE, RUN TO THE OTHER SIDE !"

Shara helped Vanessa get on her feet and we all began to run to the end of the giant corridor. As we approached the exit, the pain in our heads began to die out. Upon exiting the tunnel, we were shocked by what we stumbled upon.

"T-That's impossible." Shara managed to say "This makes no sense."

At the exit, we discovered that the hallway was actually leading to a giant cave...except, there was no cave. All around us, no rocks or netherracks could be seen but a giant void. We were on a platform made entirely of bedrocks. In front of us, a massive mansion was standing proudly a hundred blocks in front of us.

"Where...Where are we ?" Korian asked.

"I-I don't know, this is surreal. It's like we arrived in another dimension." Blazette responded.

"Just like in the journal..." Shara continued as she opened the book to analyse it once again.

"Notch, are we in..." I spoke up

"The void ? Yes..." He answered with a sigh.

Around us, the soldiers were even more worried, some even questioning if they should go back the way they came and call the main army. I was quite anxious myself, what were we going to find in this mansion ?

"This is it, no going back now." Korian spoke up as we took the first step forward to the giant mansion.


Meanwhile, The mansion, Unknow POV

Unknown to the group, two pairs of eyes were watching them from the distance.

"Ooooh, what do we have here ?" A green creature with a long neck spoke up as a bulky zombie joined him, groaning all the way "Looks like some humans and mobs have managed to get the way to master's home."

"Grrrrrrr" The zombie replied as he prepared to jump before being stopped by his comrade.

"Not now, let's wait a little while. It's better to just warn the master for now." The four-legged creature replied as they both retreated back into the mansion.

TO BE CONTINUED...Looks like the group is being watched by not one, but two of those mutants. Big trouble up ahead. And what is happening inside that mansion ? Find out in the next chapter. So, as always PM or review to tell me what you think of the story : good or bad. And if you have any suggestion for the story, feel free to contact me. See you guys next time (^_^)/