Chapter 39: Mutation
A long time passed since the day Sunbeam regained her flight.
I practically lost count of the days, with how busy they were. With my sour, yet definitive farewell with Rana, and the consequences of the illagers' internal conflict taken care of, the only issue left to focus on, was the evoker's powers.
Alex spent a good portion of her time investigating the old manuscripts and journals that were left behind by the previous evoker on a daily basis. With how meticulous she was being, I was left with a little too much free time on my hands.
I spent most of it gathering various resources by chopping trees, and searching various small caves that were hidden in the forest. By the time Alex was done with her research, I had accumulated plenty of wood, stone, as well as the largest amount of iron I had ever had.
All of these materials would hopefully suffice for the upcoming house we were going to build. We hadn't had the time to work out the details, such as where we would build it, or how it would look like, but I was just itching to build with her again.
Eventually, came the day where that last remaining task of ours was finished. Having found the answer she was looking for, Alex offered the evoker's powers to Matilda. As she told me herself, she didn't know whether this was meant to be a reward for Matilda for all her hard effort, or a punishment for taking Sunbeam hostage.
In any case, after being given a thorough run-down of the benefits and the drawbacks these powers granted, Matilda accepted the offer in a heartbeat, something that definitely caught Alex by surprise. She then explained that she was glad she wouldn't have to rely on using potions for defense anymore.
As such, a modest ceremony took place in the large dining room, where every inhabitant of the mansion was present to see how the transfer would play out. The two were standing in the middle of the room.
"You're sure about this, right? It's not too late to back out," Alex pointed out.
"I am," Matilda affirmed.
"Alright. Brace yourself; this will hurt at first."
A strange glow that was a very light shade of purple surrounded Alex's raised hands. She stood like that for a while, until the glow engulfed her entire body, which began trembling. Matilda kept watching, unblinking, while Sunbeam, who was resting on my lap, covered her eyes.
Without any warning, the glow took a gaseous form, which drifted away from Alex, and closer to Matilda, before shrouding her entirely. Some shielded their eyes, so as to avoid the brightness, while others blocked their ears in order to not hear the screaming, which in reality didn't last too long.
Once everything settled down, the two were left panting. It took a few brief tests to ensure that the transfer was indeed successful, but once we saw Matilda's hand glow purple, while Alex's didn't, the result was obvious.
The hug the two shared marked the end of what was practically an era for Alex, and I was happy to be there for and with her. We spent the rest of that day coming up with a more tangible plan for our future.
In the end, we decided that our spawn area was where we were going to build our house. In a weird way, it spoke to us. A valley with colorful flowers, a forest, a beach, and a mountain. Could it get any more perfect than that?
Sure, it was far away from the mansion, as well as most bastions of activity, not to mention how dull the idea of going back there by boat was, but so long as the two of us would stick together, we probably weren't going to need much more company.
Having made up our minds, we started the final preparations. Optimism, and even giddiness to some extent, were blooming within me. Alex retrieved the last few things we needed from the storage rooms, those being clay and glass, as well as the flowers that were on display in one of the flower rooms.
When we went to gather the allays, we were met with surprising resistance. After we explained to them our intention, one of them rejected the idea, and the other two followed suit. Perhaps they didn't want to leave their home behind?
This led Sunbeam to a predicament, if the way her gaze would flick between us and her friends was anything to go by. She made her choice eventually, and decided to stick with us. I felt grateful for that, as neither me nor Alex trusted the illagers to the point we'd let them look after our own daughter. We were going to visit the mansion on occasion, should she really want to see her pals again.
With all that said and done, we bid the mansion farewell the following morning. One somewhat mundane, yet simultaneously peaceful voyage, and nearly two days later, we arrived at our destination.
...
The following few days consisted of mostly us just building our cozy little abode. We settled for a single storey house that was bigger than the one I had built by myself, yet not quite as big as Cornelia's inn. In the construction phase, we used my old house as a temporary shelter during nighttime.
In any case, from a top down view, the house roughly resembled the letter H, just with different proportions. The foyer led to a hallway which connected our bedroom on the right, with a multipurpose room on the left. The latter served as a kitchen, storage room, and smithing station. Sunbeam's room, which was smaller than the other two, was across the entrance.
The foundation and the frame of the building were built out of cobblestone and oak logs, while the walls were made up of oak planks. We laid down stone bricks for the floor of every room, except for the two bedrooms. We just used oak planks for those, too.
On the roof, which was made of clay bricks, we set up a lounging area, with two seats and a small table which had a potted tulip resting on it. Speaking of which, nearly every room had some form of vegetation like that, be it potted flowers or oak saplings. That gave a pleasant touch of life and color to the interior. Windows also assisted in that, as sunlight permeated into every room.
Outside, we even managed to set up a pen for some of the cows that were wandering nearby. It was good to see that the valley wasn't as desolate as it was the last time I lived in it.
It took a while, and there were even some arguments and bickering along the way, most of which were centered around minute topics, such as where should we install the windows, or what type of wood should be used for the doors.
Even with all that, we each made our compromises, and worked together, just like we used to do back in the days of Sky dimension. Even Sunbeam would help us on occasion, mostly by fetching items for us. All of that led to the creation of one of, if not the most special build we had ever had the pleasure of building. It was a towering achievement for Alex and I's teamwork, and a product of love.
Content, we spent the following days fishing, swimming, farming, exploring, honing our sword techniques, or just laying down on the grass, watching the clouds drift by. It felt so magical to be able to do these things with the ones I loved.
...
On a morning like any other, I was out in the forest, chopping some trees. While I was too busy pondering what the plan for today was going to be, I heard a strange, distant sound. It was hollow, and kind of familiar in a way, but I couldn't quite deduce why that was.
Curious, I decided to follow it. That's when I saw one of them for what was practically the very first time. An Enderman was prowling near the foot of the mountain. The only experience I had with these creatures was from nightmares and visions of the past, and Rana's retelling of her encounter with one of them.
It was surreal to actually get to see for myself what my kind had become.
At first, I simply stood behind a tree and spied on this anomalous entity, as it interacted and traversed the environment around it. It displayed the ability to harvest blocks and place them down, just like we could.
The main difference lied in the fact that there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason behind its placements - or if there was, I just couldn't wrap my head around them. Regardless, after it placed down the grass block it had been carrying, it stood eerily still.
As though it felt my gaze, its eyes met mine, even with all the distance between us. It began shaking in place violently, and those appalling screams escaped through its parted jaws. They still somehow found their way to my ears, with as much volume as if I were standing right next to it.
A blink of an eye later, the Enderman vanished, leaving a cloud of purple dust to float where it stood. Warning bells were going off in my head, as I was on the lookout for where the enderman would next appear, sword in hand.
Before my mind could properly register what happened, a crushing pain shot through my ribs. I swung my arm wildly, and nearly cleaved through the enderman's arm. With an obnoxious scream, it tried to bash me with its monstrous arms again.
Even with a shield, the sheer force caused my arm to ache. And it just wouldn't stop. I had to block three of those attacks before I could find an opening to retaliate. Even when I successfully managed to do so, it teleported away moments later.
My nerves were shot, and breathing was erratic. I had difficulty recalling the last time I felt this afraid. The Enderman warped in front of me again, and punched me square in the gut. If things continued like this, I was probably going to die.
As I was witnessing the moment flash before my eyes, I couldn't help but once again wonder what the point of it all was… After every struggle and hardship I had to endure, this was how I was going to go down? Right after achieving the happiness I had been longing for?
No…
I was not going to let that happen!
Fury, mixed with primitive survival instincts guided my hand, and I landed two slashes and a thrust to the wretched creature, before it or I could possibly react. After it died, and the heat of the moment dissipated, I slid down against the log of the tree behind me.
With how loud the fight got, I had forgotten just how silent everything was.
I survived by the skin of my teeth. I could have tried to blame the fact that I had just woken up, or that I wasn't wearing proper armor, or that it had been a while since I last fought anything, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter.
I could only hope that no more Endermen would show up around these parts. I used my sword as a means to support myself in an attempt to stand upright, but my entire torso hurt too much, even with the slightest of movements. I needed help.
"Alex!"
Unless she had decided to take a leisurely stroll by the beach or something, she would hear my call resonate across the valley. While I waited for her to arrive, I tried to stand and take a step once again, but in the end, I could only shamble.
After what felt like an eternity, Alex came running to me, and gasped upon seeing the state I was in.
"Steve, what happened?!"
"An Enderman…I won…" I uttered, holding up the Ender pearl that was left behind.
She cursed under her breath, before offering me some food to alleviate my injuries. I felt my bones and organs mend themselves together as my health bar was replenishing. She flung my arm over her shoulder and supported me all the way to our house. Because of how slow we were going, I had plenty of time to mull over my hardly gratifying victory.
...
I spent the rest of the day recuperating. Even when the afternoon rolled around, and the pain had practically gone away, I still didn't leave the house. I instead chose to bide my time doing house chores. Smelting ores, cooking up some food, things like that.
Alex would walk up behind me and give me hugs at random, without saying anything. She must have been really worried. Not that I could blame her… If our positions were reversed, I would have felt the same way.
Sunbeam, too, looked at me worriedly, even when I tried to act like I was fine.
...
The following four days, of course, saw an increase in Enderman activity. We were forced to go outside wearing armor and take them down before they could tarnish the terrain too much. If there was one positive to all this, it was that Alex and I got to improve our teamwork in combat. Even though things weren't ideal, the three of us could get by.
However, this abnormal trend appeared to culminate into what we witnessed on the fifth day. When the sun was around its apex, the ground shook, and with a deafening crack, a purple rift formed on the mountain side.
A fully active Nether portal, similar to the one near the summit, served as a gateway for a troop of piglins and Endermen to invade our home. Thankfully, the invasion was short lived, and we managed to curb it before it could get out of control, but all of this foreshadowed a very bleak future. We held a meeting of sorts, with the purpose of figuring out what to do going forward.
It was evident that simply waiting for all these extradimensional entities to come to us, wasn't going to be viable in the long run, especially if things were to continue at a similar pace. That's why I proposed we cut the problem at its root, and follow the old prophecy's guidance.
Not necessarily because I believed in it, but rather because it was the only lead we had… There was always the option to relocate, but I hated the idea, and I knew Alex would, too. This was our home.
Back on topic, Alex understandably seemed hesitant when I mentioned the prophecy of the Fallen.
"You know its credibility is questionable at best, right?"
"I do, but…I can't think of any alternatives. We've survived this much; I know we can do it."
"But what if our efforts go to waste?"
It was indeed a great risk. Going through with this would mean coming into contact with the dangers of the Nether, and everything that came along with that. Even so…
"I still believe it's worth a try. We've already lost our old home. This could be our only chance to fight back and save our current one."
I could tell she was conflicted, but she settled for a determined answer eventually.
"You're right. It may be dangerous, but we must give it our best."
"Glad to see you're on board. So, that means our next goal is to get an eye of Ender?"
"Not so fast," she objected. "Our next goal should be to get stronger. If just a few Endermen caused us this much trouble, how are we supposed to proceed?"
She made a good point, things were probably only going to get more treacherous from hereon, so that's what we had to focus on. To defeat the Ender dragon, and hopefully restore balance to this world, we had to do everything in our power in order to succeed.