Hey ya'll, it's Enderdeath! I hope you're having a great day, but I don't know if I'll make it any better with this new chapter... So yeah. This chapter has 1,208 words. NOTE: I do not own Mianite, any YouTubers mentioned, Minecraft, and really, I don't own anything except the idea. ALSO: I am not claiming the real Declan actually deals with this sort of thing, nor do I; this is purely fantasy.

WARNING: MORE MASSIVE FEELS COMING UP

Chapter 8

When Dec found User, he had almost screamed so loudly that he'd have caused an avalanche.

Twisted came running, wailing in distress when he too, saw User's limp form sprawled out over the sharp, bloodstained rocks. They had thought he was dead; that it was already too late.

But then Dec had heard User's uneven, clattering breath, signifying that the wizard was alive. Twisted had pointed out that User would never survive, but Dec had insisted that they at least bring him home where, and when the time came, they could both be there in User's final moments.

So he had been brought back to the house three days ago and was lying in his bed, his face thin and pale. He was still breathing, but only just. He had uncountable internal injuries, most of which were broken bones that had pierced vital organs. He hadn't opened his eyes once and he remained limp and completely still, save for the ragged rising and falling of his chest.

User wasn't dead yet, but it wasn't looking good.

Dec sat on a chair by the side of User's bed, gripping User's hand like it would save his life. Twisted had just gone downstairs, murmuring something about eating. Dec couldn't care less about food at this point, not when User's life was hanging on by a thread.

It was only then that Dec noticed the silence.

It was the same silence he had heard while he was staring at his mother's corpse. It was the same silence he had heard when his old house had burned down. It was the same silence that had filled the air after he had fallen ill.

It was a silence that signified death.

"User!" Dec cried. He tightened his grip on User's limp hand, searching the wizard's face for any sign of life. User's gaunt face was deathly pale, and no air escaped his lips.

"Twisted!" Dec yelled, his words edged with panic. Twisted came tearing into the room, crying out in shock when he saw User's limp form.

"User, no!" Twisted wailed, rushing over to User's side and kneeling down next to Dec. "No, no, no, no, no! User, please wake up! Please, look at me. Look at me!" Twisted's voice rose to a scream, tears streaming down his cheeks. He slowly slumped down over User's body, sobbing into the wizard's unmoving chest.

Dec felt tears form a river down his face and he gasped, more tears catching in his throat. He felt sorrow grip his heart and he kept on sobbing harder and harder.

"Dec!" Dec looked up and saw Twisted staring at him in a panic. "Calm down! Calm down - you're going into shock!"

But Dec couldn't calm down. User was dead and it was all his fault. His lungs started to hurt and he felt his brain going foggy from the lack of air.

"Dec, just breathe. Look at me, Dec!" Twisted's voice made Dec look up again, hardly able to see the wizard through his tears. "Breathe, Dec. Come on, don't go into shock on me. Breathe. In, out, in, out."

Eventually Dec calmed down enough to the point where he could think clearly. He was still crying but it was more controlled now.

"He - he's dead, Twisted," Dec choked out. "He's d - dead and it's a - all my fau - fault."

Twisted said nothing, but his sobs were enough to hear. He hung his head, wiping away tears with the back of his hand. Dec leaned forwards and embraced Twisted in a hug.

Twisted and Dec stayed like that for a long time, hugging and crying over User. Dec was taking it particularly badly, replaying over and over the moment where he had snapped at User.

"I just can't believe it," Twisted whispered. "I never thought User would ever - ever be that distraught."

"It was all - all my fault," Dec sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut. "If I had never opened my mouth, User wouldn't be - wouldn't be dead."

"I won't say it's all right," Twisted murmured, casting a glance at User's lifeless body, "because it's not."

Dec sobbed a little bit harder.

"I was the push that turned into a shove," Dec turned away, rubbing his right arm and remembering the sharp pain that used to accompany it. "A shove off the cliff."

"Blaming ourselves won't make it any better," Twisted took deep breath. "I just never dreamed this would happen. That this -" Twisted squeezed User's cold hand, "- would be the end. User has saved my life so many times and I feel so guilty because I couldn't save his."

"He saved my life too - physically and emotionally," Dec swallowed. "And now it was all wasted."

Without another word, Twisted scooped up User bridal-style and stood up. Dec choked back another sob as User's head lolled lifelessly against Twisted's chest.

"Where are you taking him?" Dec asked, standing up as well.

"To the goddess Khione," Twisted responded dully. "Maybe - maybe she can give him a proper wizard's burial."

Dec sobbed all the harder as Twisted carried User down the stairs, leaving Dec alone in the silent, empty room.

XxX

"Twisted?" Dec asked dully. "What's the goddess Khione like?"

Twisted glanced over at Dec, his eyes red from crying. "I've never met her myself," Twisted admitted, his voice sounding like he had given up completely.

"I have," Wag, who was guiding the cart, answered. It was, after all, his horse who was pulling the cart where User lay. It was necessary for him to come along. "She is a mystical young goddess, very kind and very interested in mortals. She likes to test people though, so be wary and be prepared."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dec muttered, leaning back against the side of the cart. His left hand was resting on the box that held User's body, broken in its final days.

Dec knew he would never be able to forgive himself. He was the one who pushed User to do this. He would never be able to undo what he did.

They rode in silence for a long while, the clopping of Khione's hooves against the trail the only sound. No one could find any energy or motivation for a conversation, not with such a heavy burden placed upon them. It was as if, with User's death, all life had been drained from the atmosphere. Even the trees seemed duller, the clouds steel gray, and Dec's scarlet shirt bleached of all brightness.

No one said it but they all knew that they already missed User's cheerful personality. The way he could turn a gloomy situation into a joke, quick as a snap. The way he was always hyper, ready for anything. The way his eyes gleamed when he had an idea or the way he danced around when his idea worked.

But more than anything, they missed his singing.

He was often heard singing a song in ancient Rune, or even just humming a perky tune. He could turn anything into a song, be it silly or sorrowful. User's overabundance of energy was channeled into his music which everyone enjoyed.

It was the day the music died.

*sings* So... bye, bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry...

Random Observation: Did anyone else feel that? That cracking inside their chest? Yeah, it really hurt.

TheAmazingQwerty: If these tears keep up, we're going to float away into space again.

MyBrokenHeart123: *sobs with you*

RusYRP: Agreed!

Ianitethecookie: I don't doubt it.

DiamondScribe: I'm guessing even more feels just slapped you in the face... I'm sorry.