Chapter 17

The Dead World

They took an oath that night, all who remained. There were so few of them left now, despite the First trying his hardest to save as many as he could. They still lost so many.

But they took their oath, despite their grief, they swore.

Never again would we speak of him, never again write his name.

The Lost One was to be erased from all record.

Names are power, his name, gives him power.

I wonder why though, is he not dead? It took me many years, but I finally found it. I found his name.

They swore an oath, but I did not.

I know him, I know his name.

His name is-

(The writing becomes illegible and the last section has been torn clean off.)

"So there was nothing there," Petra said with a huff. "Which was irritating since we were almost killed."

Steve blew the dust of his dagger, "I hate it when that happens."

"Yeah, well," Petra adjusted herself on the porch swing, "Got to meet some cool people."

"There is a good silver lining."

"There was also this creeper that- what are you doing," Petra stopped.

"Sharpening my dagger and listening to you," Steve answered.

Petra inspected the gleaming weapon, "I've never seen a diamond dagger before."

The adult male paused from his sharpening, and extended it out, giving Petra a better look at the lethal tool. It was almost too long to be a dagger and the blade was jagged, curving in almost circular just a bit before extending back out. The handle was silver steel, while the most of the blade was diamond, inlaid with something white.

"What's the white part?" Petra asked.

"Dragon bone."

"Where in the world did you get dragon bone?!"

Steve got up from the deck chair, inspecting the edge of the blade, "I picked it up somewhere..." he looked at her, "Wanna see something cool?"

"Yeah?"

Steve hopped off the porch, heading around the back to the archery range, Petra following in tow.

Steve took a stance at the archer's mark, "Watch this." He pulled the blade back, up over his shoulder, eyeing the target way down the path. Then he wrenched his arm forward, releasing the weapon.

The dagger flew hard and fast, spinning through the air till it looked nothing more than a spinning blue disk. It embedded itself in the center of the target stopping at the hilt.

There wasn't even a noise.

"Woah,"

Steve laughed, "Wasn't that good at first, I assure you." he fetched his dagger and returned to the mound, he extended it out to Petra, "Here, you try."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. Lukas got to play with Alex's bow, why can't you play with daggers- I mean an oversized kitchen knife."

Petra raised an eyebrow, "You're giving a dangerous weapon to an inexperienced youth?" she teased.

Steve shrugged, "I believe in learning on the go," he extended it out once more, "Wanna try?"

Petra paused, hardly a second and then she took the dagger. "Sure, " she grinned impishly, "There isn't anyone beyond the wall back there I hope? I mean, is this where you get payback on Alex for the Lukas arrow incident?"

"Perish the thought Petra, I would never!"

She laughed, stepping on the mound, "Okay how does this work."

Steve guided her arm up and back over her shoulder, "Keep it parallel with you other arm, like you are a set of rail tracks. Make sure when you release you let go just before your hand is level with your shoulder, or the knife will go up or straight into the dirt." He pointed towards the target, "Take a deep breath, exhale on the release, make sure you look far ahead of you and not at your hand, there you go-"

Petra threw the dagger.

It didn't spin quite as gracefully, landing in the dirt a few feet away from the target.

She frowned.

"Well your arm isn't weak," Steve hummed, his jogged over and brought back the knife, "Try it with more oomph this time."

Petra chucked it.

The dagger flew past the target embedding the point in the stone wall.

"Oh crap! I'm sorry!"

Steve was laughing, "Better than me! I threw the damn thing into my foot once." he went to retrieve the dagger, "We'll keep practicing."

Petra smiled and tried not to imagine the male with 'oversized kitchen knife' in his foot, "Did Alex help you with that?" she called.

"No she did not, and she doesn't need to know!" he called back. "I'm not supposed to be teaching children how to play with knives!"

Petra burst into a fit of laughter.

Jesse crawled out of the portal, dripping wet, and very tired. He looked down past his waist.

Oh good, legs.

Alex plopped out seconds later, her hair also wet, plastered to the sides of her face, "Well that was fun," she quipped.

"I beg to differ," Jesse tried to stand, but his legs were wobbly and unstable, "It's hard to swim with armor, much less without legs."

"I thought you made a cute little merman," Alex got up and put a sign in front of the portal labeling the world. She followed with a smaller sign that said 'Warning, you will lose your legs' "You had a pretty green tail and everything. It matched your suspenders," she laughed.

Jesse hummed, pulling himself uneasily up on a nearby broken pillar, "You were a pretty mer- what did you call it?"

"Mermaid," she answered, "Half human half fish."

"Well, you made a very beautiful mermaid," He finished.

Alex grinned sitting down next to him, "Thanks, I like how our tails were matching."

Jesse looked to the door, "I've never had a portal physically change me before. I'm a little weirded out by it."

"I've had it happen before," Alex said, "I should have recognized the door." she wrung some water out of her hair, "I think the Old Builder's - and I mean the old old ones - designed the portal's like that on purpose to keep people alive."

"Yea~h" Jesse sighed.

"You saw that world, it was entirely composed of water, and the exit gate was at the bottom of the ocean. We wouldn't have made it down there unless we had the ability to breath underwater." she plucked a sea flower from her hair.

"I guess we better be grateful the Old Builders like to mess with human anatomy,"

She chuckled, "Yeah, I guess we should." her stomach growled then and she clutched it with a groan. "Swimming sure makes me hungry though, and I lost all our food in that shark attack."

Jesse bent over his own stomach complaining and pulled water out of his hair, "Guess we should head back then?"

"Unless we food," Alex paused as the Hallway lit up in a portal flash, "Or unless dinner walks in."

He heard her notch her bow and Jesse glanced through the tresses of his wet hair, his eyes widening in alarm. "Alex wait!" he cried, but it was too late, she had already released the arrow.

However, by some miraculous miracle, or by intense skill, Alex slashed her bow outward, the point just barely hitting the arrow feather. But it was enough to send the weapon spiraling out of control.

The arrow embedded itself in the ground, not inches from its target.

The pig squealed in surprise and fled down the hall, leaping through another portal.

There was silence.

Jesse stared wide eyed at the arrow on the floor, too afraid to look up because he knew Alex was looking at him wondering...

Why had he stopped her?

"Jesse-"

He hastily got up, face red, "I'm s-sorry, I- I don't know what-" he quickly advanced down the hall, "We'll get it back."

Alex followed hastily after, "Jesse wait-"

"It's nothing Alex, I'm fine," he cut in quickly, "We'll catch him okay? He- it just went through the door right there- it can't be far."

It's not Rueben, it's just a pig, it's just a pig.

"Jesse!" her voice turned distressed.

He didn't noticed, "I'll get it back Alex," he stepped into the portal, noting there wasn't a sign for it.

"Jesse wait!" she screamed it out, startling him-

Too late.

Jesse stepped through and immediately the breath was stolen from his lungs, he couldn't breathe! There was no light either, no sound, he couldn't see, couldn't hear. It was like stepping into a vacuum of nothing. Where was everything, where was he? He couldn't even see the pig!

There was nothing.

Till there was something.

He felt a sharp pull in his left arm, a hot heat in his hand. Jesse was moving backwards, but it felt so slow, like the void before him was holding on tight-

Then he was stumbling back out of the portal, air rushing into his lungs and he gasped. There was a hand on his opposite shoulder and he was forced to turn around, falling into the open arms of Alex.

Alex herself was pale as a sheet of paper, eyes wide with fear. "Jesse! Oh thank Notch," she pulled him into her embrace, shaking; "I thought I'd lost you!"

"I'm- I'm sorry," he stammered still in shock, "I just went after the pig and I-"

"Forget the pig," she soothed, "He's gone."

"I-"

"Shhhh, by the heavens, I was afraid I'd never get you back."

Jesse glanced towards the door. It looked like a normal portal, made from wood okay not yet crafted, the inner magic black. But upon closer inspection, Jesse could see the wood looked almost rotted in the interior, black lines running through the grain. And the magic itself...there was no glow, no reflection, no swirling. It was just like the void. Why was the other side so dark though?

"It's a dead door," Alex said softly, as if reading his thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

She pulled away, just far enough to inspect him for any damage. Her eyes were sad, the color not yet returned to her face, "I mean the world on the other side has died."

"Died?"

"Yes, it's time ran out."

Jesse was confused, "I don't understand."

"No world last forever Jesse," Alex answered.

He felt his heart skip a beat. "You mean the darkness, the silence was...

"Nothing, there is only nothing. The world died, but the portal remained." Alex got up from the floor, and walked towards the door. She pulled stone from her inventory, placing it inside the rotting beams. "Some of Notch's creations simply run out of time."

"But what about the people?"

"There are none," Alex pulled the last sea flower from her hair and placed it down in front of the door, "They're gone. The pig that ran ahead of you is gone, and if I hadn't caught hold of your hand before you went through..." She cringed, "You would have been gone too."

Jesse stared from his spot on the floor, "How did you know it was a dead door?"

"I saw a world die once."

His eyes widened.

Alex sat down next to him, "This was before I married Steve, when I traveled on my own. The sun was dying, and the stars were going out. Everytime I went there, it was a little colder, a little darker. I went every day, trying to get everyone to leave. Some of them wouldn't. They thought things would get better soon...as long as they waited it out."

"Soon all the stars died, then the moon vanished. Night was so dark, and so cold, ice slowly began to cover the world. Then the sun finally died, and I watched as everything fell into nothing. And...and there were still people...but they..."

Alex wiped stray tears from her eyes, "There was nothing left alive after the sun died. So I left the world, and the old magic that powered the door faded away, and the inner turned black as the dead world it held."

Jesse looked at the door, now covered with its stone grave marker. "I saw other doors blocked off like this. Ivor said it best to leave them alone. Now I know why..." he looked at Alex, "Did you cover all those doors?"

"Most of them," she admitted. "I didn't want anyone to go through, like I said before, you can't come back." she sighed, "I'll never forget seeing the life drain from everything. I can't handle seeing death, and I surely didn't want that to be the last thing you ever saw. Someone as young and as bright as you, shouldn't experience tragedy. But," Alex looked at him, "I have a feeling you already have."

Jesse looked away, heart throbbing, "I didn't mean to stop you, I just- I-" he couldn't say another word.

How could he explain Rueben to her?

"I'm just glad you're safe. I think I would have died if I lost you," Alex set a hand on his cheek, "There is no need to explain what you did back there. You don't have to tell me Jesse, death doesn't have to take a person for you to experience it. I can tell you don't want to talk about it just yet." She stood clearing her eyes, and pulling him up, "Let's get home. I think we're done here for today."

"Kay..."

"How does soup sound?" she asked as she pulled away from the door, giving it one last sad glance.

He stepped into line next to her. Walking silently down the hall he thought of the pig, and how it no longer existed. He wonders if the Witherstorm had killed everyone along side Rueben and successfully devoured the world; would their door have died?

"His name was Rueben." Jesse said softly.

Alex paused, eyes going wide a little, "Rueben?" she whispered, her eyes softened, "...Rueben."

"I'm sorry Jesse," She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and he leaned into it. Then the pair continued on, leaving behind the silent grave.

"Alright sure-shot," Steve laughed, "Quit catching on so fast. You're making me look bad."

Petra pulled the knife out of the bulls-eye. "What can I say? I like to learn quickly," she smirked.

"Well I can see that," Steve remarked as she returned to the archer's mound. "I just might have to get back to practicing."

Petra grinned.

"Hey guys!"

The looked to the porch just as Lukas exited the house.

Petra waved, "Hey man! How was the nap?"

"Good, I needed it," Lukas answered. He leaned against the railing, "Steve can I ask for some help?"

"Sure with what?"

"Well Alex brought home a pretty big batch of books from the first cache; we're still going through them. Anyway, I pulled some out; because I thought I'd try and see if I can read any of them but some of them look kinda strange and I was hoping you could tell me if this is a First World thing or not."

Steve tilted his head, "Strange? Huh, alright be right in."

Lukas nodded, and returned back into the house.

"Practice is over for now then," Petra said, handing the diamond knife to Steve.

He looked at it, "Keep it."

"What? Seriously!"

"Sure! If Alex complains I'll get on her for giving Lukas a bow. Besides, you're better with it than I am."

Petra felt her eyes light up, "Thanks!"

Steve grinned, heading towards the house with Petra in tow. They entered the kitchen to see Lukas sitting as the table, a big pile of books stacked up on the floor. The large leather bound novel on the table however, was glowing.

"What in the world?" Petra said.

"Can you tell me if it's enchanted or not? Because I've never seen an enchantment like this.' Lukas asked.

Steve hissed, "No~." he gingerly opened the cover, "It's full of magic, but it's not enchanted."

"How is it full of magic then?"

"There was some rip in the magical fabrics of the world. Is this the set of books Alex and you guys brought back from the swamp."

"Yeah, but I didn't see any glowing ones before."

"Was this one wrapped in a canvas?"

Lukas thought about it, "Yeah, now that I look back on it, this one was."

"Okay, so that was the books seal, which means someone already knew it had been exposed to magic and covered it up."

"Exposed?" Petra asked.

Steve explained. "It rarely happens, but sometimes old magic from deep within the world leaks into inanimate objects, such as books. They um...well they accidentally absorb it up."

"What does it do then?"

"Well sometimes memories of the world flow into the books, showing the person something that happened long ago. Or sometimes they just catch on fire. It really could be anything to put it bluntly." Steve said, "You can have a book on fishes, but the magic will fill it with memories of a sandstorm in the dessert three hundred years ago, or you open your cook book then your house gets flooded with a lake worth of water. It's pretty random."

"That kinda sounds like some of them may be a cool feature," Petra said.

"Well, getting hit with ancient magic straight to your brain can be kinda painful, lethal even."

"Oh."

Steve turned a page, "You have to handle it delicately. They say even the drawings are filled with memories."

Lukas leaned back away from the book, "Well it looks like it's in your language anyway. I think it best to leave this one to you an Alex."

"I'm not sure even I want to handle it, these things can be dangerous. I shouldn't have even opened the cover..."

Petra reached over, "Maybe we should close it then-"

The wind gusted up so suddenly the kitchen door swung open. The wind tore through books, shooting open covers and rapidly turning pages.

Including the magic soaked book.

Petra saw a fancy painting of a dark oak tree; none of the lines were straight all curved and tangled together in an intricate array of knots that somehow still composed the tree. That was all she could make out before the page hit the back of her hand.

There was a sharp searing pain and Petra fell to the floor, everything going white even before she hit the hardwood. She heard only one sound, and it was the sound of a woman wailing.

Next Time on MCSM: Immortal's Child

Petra felt her arm get wrenched back and she was whipped around.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Petra stared at the dark brown eyes and she couldn't even scream.

Author's Section:

Special shoutout to the MCSM Chat Group on Discord! I am so grateful to have been introduced to all these amazing people, with all their great talents!

Special Special thanks LunasDreamWorld here on fanfiction who made an incredible piece of fan art that is still leaving me to gather my emotions! You are amazing dear! If you guys want to see it, be sure to check it out on my tumblr of the same username! It will make your heart melt!

For anyone else who wants to draw fan art, please please tag me! So I know it exists and I can crush you in virtual hugs!

As usual, I will see you all very soon, thank you for your continued support!

Love you guys see you soon!