Hey ya'll, it's Ender! I hope you're having a great day and I hope to make it even better with this new one-shot! NOTE: I do not own Minecraft, Mianite, any YouTubers mentioned, or basically anything else in this story except for the story.

Ghosts of the Past

I stared numbly at the glowing lava in front of me, watching the molten rock change from soft yellows to rich reds. I hadn't eaten for over a week and I hadn't slept in two. I knew I was suffering through grief and I couldn't pull myself out of the pit of despair that I had cast myself into.

I hadn't spoken since I killed them, and I knew the Nether mobs were getting concerned. I did nothing all day except for staring into the lava, my shoulders weighed down by guilt and my gaze always downcast.

I couldn't get over the fact that I had killed them. I hadn't gone back to the Overworld yet to survey the damage because I didn't think I could handle it.

I shuddered, feeling an unnatural chill through the heat of the Nether. I knew I would have to face the facts sometime. But I wasn't brave enough to do it now.

"My lord," a Wither skeleton approached me cautiously and bowed. "Mianite is here to see you. He has come unarmed and says he wishes to speak with you."

I felt a sudden coldness take over my heart and I stood, narrowing my eyes. "Tell Lord Mianite I will be there shortly," I ordered the Wither skeleton. "If I know him, he will not remain unarmed for long."

The Wither skeleton bowed again and walked off, his dark bones clattering against each other. I stared after him, then drew my sword, the blade shining in the dull red light. If Mianite came here for a fight, then he would receive one.

My newly gained power had grown tremendously, and I felt as though I knew how to control it. I could take on another god and defeat him, I knew.

I stole one more glance at the fiery lava, then turned and walked off to go meet with Mianite.

I found the god of the Overworld standing in front of the Nether Portal, his arms crossed and his eyes devoid of emotion. He donned his typical white toga, and his golden crown was sitting perfectly in his neatly trimmed snow-white hair.

"Mianite. Uncle," I greeted. "So good to see you. I hope you are doing well?"

"I am," Mianite's voice was cold and emotionless. "However, the mortals who were once in my care were not quite so lucky. Tell me Declan -"

"That's not my name," I interrupted, not thinking. Mianite fell silent, his mouth still open as he stared at me. Finally, he continued with a small sigh.

"- What were you thinking? What was your reason behind attacking the mortals? Please, explain."

I flinched and momentarily, my strong composure melted away. Mianite's eyes flashed with surprise and I glared at him, daring him to challenge me about my moment of weakness.

"You would know, O Great and Almighty One," I sneered. "Dianite was poisoned and killed - and his blood is on your hands."

Mianite's eyes narrowed and lightning sparked from his beard. "I would not kill my own brother," He snarled, his voice dropping from cold to freezing. "No matter how many times he wages war against me, the most I would do is imprison him. Someone else must have done this."

"Liar!" I hissed, drawing my sword. I had switched it from a normal diamond blade - to lava-infused obsidian. It had been my father's blade and I was prepared to avenge him using it.

Mianite didn't falter at the sight of the god sword. Instead, he merely drew his own, which was made up of crackling lightning, barely contained in sword formation. I immediately knew that if I got hit with that, the electricity would be enough to stop my heart and kill me.

"I did not kill Dianite, Declan," Mianite's face was illuminated as strand of lightning flashed from his sword. "You are a fool if you fight me for something I did not do. But I will not hesitate to fight back. I will have no qualms with killing you, if that's what it comes down to. Be warned, though. This would not be the path I want to choose."

"You are a liar, and a traitor to your kin," I whispered, my voice filled with menace. "I killed those mortals to spite you. They were no longer my friends. They meant nothing." A bitter taste filled my mouth as I lied and I tried to ignore it. I also tried to ignore the sorrow shooting through my heart.

"Nothing. Really, Declan?" Mianite asked dryly. "You expect me to believe that? After all those times you played parkour maps with Syndicate and Jericho. All those times you helped Ryley and Linden tend to their fortress while they were here. All those times you went on hunts with User and you came back loaded down with things you had caught, laughing and joking with each other. Declan, you are possibly the worst liar I have ever seen."

"That is not my name!" I howled. "Never call me that again, do you hear? You don't deserve to be a god! You're a nasty, dirty, rotten little rat!"

All of a sudden, Mianite had me pinned against the wall of netherrack, holding me by my throat. I gagged, struggling to get air into my lungs, and I clawed at Mianite's hands in vain.

"You will listen to me, and you will listen well, Declan," Mianite's voice was eerily calm now, like it was just an everyday task to strangle someone. I coughed, my chest burning as Mianite's grip tightened. "I did not kill Dianite. You are falsely accusing me and I will not take that lightly. Now will you concede, and admit that you were wrong? Or will I have to kill you instead? Remember that it does not matter either way for me now. I hold no family loyalty to you."

I wheezed, unable to respond because of the pressure on my throat. Mianite didn't seem to care, twisting my head slightly to make it even harder to breathe. I struggled to draw in breath, my vision swimming and my head feeling as though it were made from clouds. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes and I stopped trying to move, the fire in my lungs becoming more painful by the second.

"What's the matter, Declan?" Mianite sneered and with a jolt of horror, I realized he was enjoying killing me. "Blaze got your tongue?"

My vision flickered and I tried desperately to keep my eyes open. "Stop," I whispered, my voice distorted and barely audible.

"Stop?" Mianite laughed cruelly and a shudder ran through me. Never had I heard the god this insane. "I don't think so. When the mortals pleaded for mercy, what did you give them? A slow and painful death. Don't you think it's fair that you should receive the same treatment?"

My chest was heaving and I was trembling uncontrollably now. I knew it wouldn't be long before I blacked out and from then, it was certain that I would die. Tears streamed down my face and my limbs were spasming weakly.

"You will let him go," I wanted to cry out with relief when I heard Asandi's voice. "This is not your kingdom, Lord Mianite. It would be not wise to kill my lord here, in his domain with all the Nether armies ready to attack."

Mianite hesitated and I silently screamed at him to let me go already; couldn't he see that I was in no position to fight him?

Finally, Mianite released his grip on my neck and I collapsed on the ground, coughing up flecks of blood as I tried to draw oxygen back into my lungs. Asandi drifted over to me as I curled up, not caring as I sobbed from pain in front of Mianite.

"Will you be alright, my lord?" Asandi asked, worried. I nodded weakly, my head spinning.

"So what is your answer?" Mianite asked casually, as though he hadn't tried to kill me less than thirty seconds ago. I glared at him, but the threat was lost as I started coughing again.

"I - I was right," I managed to choke out. "In my - my own way."

"And what way would that be?" Mianite snapped. "The way of death, despair, and destruction?"

I shook my head, beginning to feel better again. "The - the only way to keep from sinking back into dep - depression."

Mianite raised his eyebrows and Asandi's smoke thickened defensively. I remembered that Mianite probably didn't know of what had happened almost twelve years ago, with my severe depression and method of 'coping'.

And of course, no one knew that I had summoned my dagger out of the lava, where it had lain in its fiery grave for so long.

I realized that not much had changed about me, even after twelve years. Sure, I looked different, with my flowing robes and hardened features. But inside, I was still that scared young demigod, with the horrible fear that he would never be accepted. I had never fully trusted anyone. I was terrified that if it came down to a life or death situation, where the price was my own life, every single one of my friends would turn on me. And as soon as I was dead, they would go on about their daily business, not even caring that I was gone.

Even now, as king of the Nether, I still feared that I wasn't needed, and that no one would miss me if I was killed. I guess that's why I was having such a difficult time getting over the fact that I had killed my only friends. They were my one chance at being cared about. My one chance at being accepted. And now they were gone. Dead.

And I was the murderer.

I realized that Mianite was staring at me expectantly, as though waiting for an answer. I tipped my head to one side questioningly and Mianite sighed, exasperated.

"I asked what you meant by that," Mianite probed, his sharp white stare seeming to bore into my thoughts.

"Do not press him," Asandi hissed. "If he does not wish to answer, do not make him."

"No, no, it's alright Asandi," I shushed the blaze quickly, earning a concerned glance from the Nether mob. "He must know sometime anyway."

I turned back to Mianite and took a deep breath before starting my horrific tale. "When I was living with my stepfather, he drove the same lesson into my head every day for several years - 'no one needs you, no one wants you, and no one would care if you died.' One day, he gave me a poisoned dagger and told me to kill myself. I ran away that night and didn't even consider using the dagger until I arrived in this place where the others were living. Then, surrounded by all these new people, my stepfather's words began to haunt me and I kept wondering if it was true. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and - and I started using the dagger. My depression got rapidly worse over the course of that next week and before I knew it, my arms were laced with the cuts that I had made. I ran away to the Nether and almost killed myself before User found me and saved my life. After that, my depression almost faded to a distant memory - almost. There would be nights where I couldn't sleep because I was terrified that no one cared about me. Sometimes, I struggled not to stab myself with a sword because I thought that if no one really cared then - then there was no reason for me to even be alive."

Mianite was silent, his eyes wide with shock as I finished my story, almost in tears by the end. I hated recalling my past and confessing it to someone else didn't make it any easier. Asandi was glaring at Mianite as though daring him to lash out at me. He knew what happened to me. He was one of the only two creatures that had ever known about my terrible past. User had been the other, but he was dead now.

Along with everyone else.

"I have no real reason to live anymore," I sighed shakily. "They were my only lifeline. The only reason I had to keep breathing. And I never realized just how much I needed them."

"You could have just told me, Declan," Mianite choked out. "About your - your -"

"Don't you understand?" I screamed at him, more out of desperation than anger. "I couldn't! It's so hard for me to talk about it to anyone. And for crying out loud, I was terrified that they would hate me if they knew! I mean, who would actually accept me once they knew?"

"Your friends," Mianite answered immediately. "You could have entrusted every single one of those mortals with your secret and every single one would not have have cared about you one bit less. All of them were loyal to you. As their priest. Their protector. Their friend."

"But I killed them!" I screamed, sorrow gripping my heart and making me tremble. "I wasn't thinking and I straight up murdered them!"

"Declan!" Suddenly Mianite was pulling me into a hug. I didn't try to resist and instead fell limp in the stronger god's arms, crying my eyes out.

"I killed them. I killed them. I killed them," I sobbed over and over, noting dimly that Asandi had flown off somewhere else. Mianite continued to hug me, staying silent as I cried. He gently sank to the ground, letting me lean on him, my legs sprawled out on the gritty netherrack floor.

"It's okay, Dec. It's okay," Mianite soothed, turning from an enemy to a comforter in the time frame of just a few seconds. I tried to stop sobbing but failed miserably.

"Don't you understand?" I choked out. "Nothing is 'okay'. Nothing will ever be 'okay' again. All my friends are dead."

And for once, Mianite couldn't find anything to reassure me with.

I wandered through the grey forest, staring at the bleached white grass. They looked like blades of bare bones, all stretched out in an endless flat plain. I recognized this place, even though I had never been there myself.

It was the land of the dead.

I trudged through the barren forest, which was strangely vacant of any spirits. I wondered briefly where they had all gone before quickly deciding that I didn't want to know.

"Declan," A voice whispered through the trees and I whipped around, frantically searching for the origin of the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar, but it was so distorted that it was impossible for me to recognize it.

"You," Another voice sounded from behind me, this time higher-pitched in tone as though it was a child speaking.

"Killed," Now I could see who all was speaking - and it terrified me. Fifteen shimmering shapes appeared in a loose circle around me, staring at me with blank, slate-grey eyes.

They looked half-faded but I could still easily tell who they were. Tucker... Sonja... Felisa... Kitse... Jordan... Aurey... Kilo... Wag... Tom... Matt... Phil... User... Twisted... Linden...

And Ryley.

Oh Notch, there was Ryley.

"Us," Ryley completed the message, gazing at me with a blank look in his now-dull eyes.

"Why?" Kilo's voice was young and innocent. I felt sick. If it weren't for me, he would still be alive right now, playing with Tucker and Sonja's daughters and having fun. I had destroyed that possibility though, leaving all them no choice but to wander around in the land of the dead.

"I - I -" I stuttered for an answer, staring at Wag. The wizard's face looked gaunt and tired - so different than when he had been alive.

"What did we ever do?" Wag sounded heartbroken, but his eyes remained emotionless.

"Why was I sent back here?" User whimpered, clearly terrified of being in the land of the dead. "What did I do to deserve this?"

My throat felt dry as I looked at each of my friends in turn. Every single one of them was innocent. They were only subjects to my blind rage. They had all suffered from my senseless killing.

"Why?" Jordan whispered. The others took up saying the word, creating a resounding echo the chilled me to my very bones.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Stop! Please!" I begged, covering my ears with my hands. That did nothing to block out my friends' cries and it only got louder.

"Why?"

"Why, Dec?"

"I'm sorry!" I shrieked. "I'm so sorry!"

"Why?"

"Why?"

'Why' indeed.

Why did I kill them? It was a pointless sense of anger that led to my attack.

I should never have gone to live in the Nether.

I should never have become king.

I should have never been allowed to live.

I should be dead.

I strolled down the streets of Dagrun, mindlessly staring at the buildings and saying the occasional 'Good morning' or 'Hello' to the residents. I didn't much care for this seaside town, but it was where I lived now. I had fled the island of Mianite long ago, unable to stay in the place where I had -

No. Bad Declan. Don't think about them. That won't make the pain hurt any less.

I had given up my god powers a few months after arriving in Dagrun, draining them to be safely contained in a star-shaped emerald I had found in the ruins of the FyreHQ. It had some Rune letters engraved on the surface, but unfortunately, I couldn't read Rune.

Surprisingly, with the loss of my powers, I had regained my youth from what I had been like twelve years before I became king of the Nether. I now looked like I was twenty-one again instead of thirty-five, like I actually was. I could still fly though, and had created a pair of golden wings to avoid suspicion.

I had accepted the townsfolk's request that I be their priest. I performed rituals to Mianite, secretly asking the god for guidance. So far, he appeared not to have listened to my pleas.

The residents of Dagrun knew little about my past before I came here. I hadn't told them where I had come from or anything, merely stating that my name was Declan, I used to be a priest, and that I was not an enemy.

They had accepted me without much question after that.

Fools, in my opinion.

Then again, in this place that was ruled by the prince and king, my opinion didn't matter.

I sped up my progress when I saw the gates to the dungeon left open. I had heard that four people had fallen from the sky yesterday, smashing through a fishing boat and scaring the fisherman half to death.

There was a loud chattering and four people appeared in the gateway to the dungeon, staring around the city with wide eyes and not even noticing me.

"Stop!" I commanded, wary of who these people might be. They abruptly fell silent and stared at me, and I was able to get a good look at them too.

The tallest was a young man, probably just a little older than myself. He was wearing a floppy red-and-white hat which nearly covered his shaggy black hair. His attire consisted of a blue vest, white T-shirt, fingerless gloves, and pale denim jeans.

The girl next to him had sparkling green eyes, which were half-covered by her wavy caramel brown hair. She had on an orange hoodie, complete with a furry fox tail attached to the fabric.

Next was a strange zombie-like man wearing a spotless black tuxedo. His eyes were pure black, but they were glinting with a friendly light. I sensed a strange air of power around him and made a mental note to keep an eye on him for any sign of a threat.

Lastly, there was another young man in a tuxedo, but it was only halfway buttoned and showed his white v-neck shirt. He wore bright red sunglasses and his shaggy black hair hung into his ocean-blue eyes.

"No, no, no!" I started to panic, recognizing the people who stood before me. There was no way it could be them. There was no way!

Apparently, they recognized me too because they started rushing towards me, shouting, "Dec! It's you!" at the top of their lungs.

Play it cool, Mianite's familiar voice whispered inside my head. Act like you don't know them. Trust me - I have a plan for this.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to trust Mianite's advice. I swiftly backed away from them as they approached me and they stared at me in confusion.

"Who are you people?" I exclaimed, pretending to be shocked. "What are you doing?"

"We - uh -" Jordan seemed to have trouble finding his words. Thankfully, Tom saved him.

"Dec! You have wings!" Tom squealed, running at me with his eyes fixated on my wings. I stepped away from him, ruffling my feathery wings self-consciously.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, fearful that my act would fall away.

"Priest, we know you man!" Jordan smiled excitedly. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and leaned forwards, taking in all the details of Jordan's face. Had it really been two years since I had last seen him alive? I guess so.

"You know me?" I asked, letting a note of confusion enter my voice.

"Well, yeah! You're our priest bitch!" Tucker chuckled. I made another mental note to slap Tucker later for saying that about me.

"Wait... what?" Oh, Mianite, I really hope you know what you're doing.

"Don't you remember?" Jordan asked, now sounding worried.

"I've never seen you before," Except for when I killed you, Jordan... and Tucker... and Sonja...

"What?" Now it was Tom's turn to sound confused. "But - Mianite! C'mon, Dine-at-Nite, the Diamond Hoe, the Coliseum? You don't remember any of that?"

"The Quartz-House?" Sonja prompted. "The Pret-tea?"

Tucker glared at Jordan when Sonja mentioned the Pret-tea and I had to stifle my laughter. I swear, that feud would never be over.

"What is all that?" I tried to block the memories from coming back.

Tom and Jordan exchanged concerned looks and Sonja grabbed Tucker's hand tightly as she stared at me. I swallowed down the tears that were threatening to spill over and I breathed a shaky sigh of relief when my old friends' attention turned elsewhere.

I didn't know how I was going to be able to manage. Jordan, Tucker and Sonja were alive and so was Tom, who had been killed years before the others.

They were alive.

I had a second chance.

I sat on a chair in front of my crackling fire. It was the first night since my friends' return and I was having hard time managing that they were back, yet I couldn't tell them.

The neat, shallow cuts across my arms proved it.

It wasn't a way of despair now. It was a way of relief, letting all my feelings just pour out.

There was nothing left of my old life if I couldn't even interact with my old friends without letting on that I knew them from the island of Mianite. This was a way to remember.

User was still dead. Twisted, Ryley, and Linden were still dead. I had heard that the king was allowing three other wizards to stay to the south and I had a sneaking suspicion of who they were. I already knew that Wag had made a home on the mountains surrounding the town, but I hadn't yet met with him for fear that he would recognize me as a murderer.

"Mianite," I asked the fire. "Why are you doing this? What is your purpose now?"

The fire didn't reply, but the god who had just materialized behind me sure did.

"It is to give you a second chance," Mianite murmured. I didn't turn to look at him, but instead stared straight ahead into the fire, trying to ignore the stinging pain from the cuts.

"Declan, why have you done this?" I heard a faint scraping noise and I knew that Mianite had just picked the bloody dagger off of the table it was lying on.

"It's a way to remember," I was surprised that my voice didn't shake. I was scared of what Mianite would think of me now.

"You know what a better way to remember is?" Mianite asked, walking around the chair so he could look at me. I tore my gaze away from the dancing fire and stared up at the god, mildly curious.

"Go out there," Mianite knelt down and gently picked up both my hands in his own. "And live like how you were supposed to. With friends." A shimmering wave of white magic enveloped my arms, and when it vaporized, my cuts were gone.

"How can I when I'm supposed to act like I don't even know them?" I glanced at Mianite, confused.

Mianite stood up, brushing off his white toga. "It's up to you, Declan. I gave you a second chance. Use it wisely."

And with that, Mianite vanished into thin air, teleporting away. I breathed in deeply and felt a little bit more at peace already.

"Remember, Declan. No matter what happens, I will always believe in you."

Aw, now that was sweet, wasn't it guys? Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed. At the time I finish writing this AN it will be... *checks time* 3:41 AM. So goodnight ya'll! Oh, and 7,777 words this story... well, 7 is my lucky number! XD