Chapter 18: Warmth

We began making our way down the bridge. Our torch supply was running a little low, but it would probably last us the rest of our stay in the fortress. Hopefully...

We didn't walk very far, before we saw the bridge connect to a rather sizeable cube tower, that was constructed out of the same block as the rest of this place. It should be noted that the doorway was marked by a row of Nether brick fences at the top side, which made it look like an open gateway.

We couldn't see the inside of the room yet, because it was too dark, and we were still too far away. That being said, by the time we were around five blocks away from the entrance, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows of the build.

It had a slender stature - around two and a half blocks tall, if I had to guess. I soon identified it as a skeleton. Its bones were charcoal-black, probably due to the extended exposure to the Nether's elements.

Unlike every other skeleton I'd faced until this point, this one lacked a bow. Instead, its weapon of choice was a stone sword, which it held in its right hand. Upon spotting us, it began sprinting at a speed that didn't befit a muscle-less being. I started thinking...

"Rana, stay back. I'll handle this."

"What? Why!?"

"Trust me."

I could understand she was confused by my sudden initiative, as she was usually the one on the offense, but I was feeling especially adamant on attacking on my own this time around.

My courage momentarily faltered as my opponent and I went head-to-head. It wasn't very obvious from a distance, but this thing had a considerable size advantage on me. Just the bones of its forearm were about as wide as my entire forearm, with skin, muscles and all.

No matter! If I wanted to pull this off, I'd have to remain calm.

The following events happened in rapid succession:

I brandished my iron sword and delivered a horizontal swipe aimed at the skeleton's waist to bypass the height difference...which ended up getting intercepted by my opponent's blade. Surprised, I tried again, a vertical one this time; blocked again, with a flat *tang* to add to my irritation. One more time, I dished out a diagonal slash, but it was countered effortlessly.

What was going on? I had never faced a monster that could fight with such grace and skill before...and it was an undead, too! It didn't even look like it was planning on fighting back, either. It felt like I was being teased.

'If speed won't work, how about powering through?'

Without retracting my weapon this time, I grabbed the handle with both hands, and pushed back. Thankfully, it seemed as though that had done the trick. As I was gaining ground, however, the burnt skeleton flexed its left hand and jabbed its fist on my shoulder.

And it stung. It stung badly. I sucked in air through clenched teeth, as I stumbled back, flailing my sword blindly. Surprisingly, I managed to land a strike, but I wasn't exactly in a position to relish that. Managing to reclaim the lost distance, the charred swordsman raised its sword.

I slouched down against the one-block tall wall of the bridge. Before the blade began to descend, the skeleton was pulled to the side by an unknown force. Forcing my eyes to focus, I noticed a hook that had latched onto its ribs. Following the line that was attached to it, I was met with the sight of Rana holding a fishing rod. She yanked the rod once more, which caused the skeleton to stumble again, and miss its strike. Quickly catching on to the ruse, the skeleton cut the line with a single slash.

In the meantime, Rana had run up to the foe and attacked swiftly. Through squinted eyes, I saw her deliver a sweeping hit at the skeleton's thigh bone. Because I was at center of the monster's focus, it was caught off guard. Before it could reclaim its balance, she tackled it with full force, knocking it off the bridge.

She ran up to me, and crouched down to meet my eye level.

"Steve! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked frantically.

"I'm...okay..."

"May I see your wound?"

I had been clutching my shoulder pretty hard, yet even though it hurt, I was irrationally afraid that letting go would hurt more.

"Please..." she added.

Wordlessly, I let my hand go. She slowly raised her own hand and placed her index finger on the neck of my t-shirt, pulling it down.

"I can't see anything this way...Can you please take off your shirt?"

"What?" My sudden jolt made me wince.

"Here, I'll help."

"No, it's fine. This isn't necessary," I tried to convince her.

She lowered her hand, so that her fingers could reach the spot I got hurt.

"Ow! Gently!"

"...But I...barely touched it..."

"...Really...?"

"So, it's not really 'fine', is it?"

With a determined, almost angry expression, she grabbed the bottom of my t-shirt.

"I don't know if you're embarrassed, or something, but you're gonna be thanking me later for helping you."

In one swift motion, she removed my t-shirt, while I was powerless to stop her. Once she accomplished her goal, I saw that her eyes began to widen.

"Ah...ah...um...Is your hunger bar full?"

"...Mostl-"

"Eat!"

I turned my gaze toward the cause of her held-in panic, and saw a small patch of black, decomposing skin. A patch that was slowly but surely expanding. Before my terror could properly kick in, Rana handed me a steak. I accepted it, and my hunger bar filled up upon consumption. The pain was becoming a little more subdued, but it wasn't going away.

"How many hearts do you have?"

Every heart on the health bar had turned black, with the only thing to distinguish them from the empty ones, being their narrowed eyes, which were now glowing white. Focusing as well as I could given the circumstances, I counted around six hearts, which were being slowly whittled down, as the patch of withering skin was expanding, creeping its way to my bicep and breast.

"Six," I replied before opening my inventory, hoping I'd find something to counteract the pain. Before I could examine my arsenal, another indicator on the top right corner of the grid caught my eye. It was a gray label with the word 'Wither' written on it, and a timer that counted down under it. The timer read 0:03.

'Wait...does this mean...'

0:02

'...that I'll live?'

0:01

'Just a little longer...'

0:00

...

It vanished.

The label had vanished, and with it, the stinging. The blackness had begun reverting back to the natural tan color of my skin. I couldn't even draw a sigh of relief, before Rana wrapped her arms tightly around me, speaking in a frantic manner.

"Why did you go off on your own? What if you had died? Don't you know how crushed I'd be if...if-"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rana. I didn't mean to make you worry," I replied as I hugged her back, trying to console her.

"Things didn't go quite the way I'd planned," I continued.

She broke the hug, and stared into my eyes. Hers were almost teary. Damn it...

"Why? Why did you tell me to stay back? You told me to trust you!"

I came forth with what had been on the forefront of my mind the last couple days.

"I didn't want you to get hurt, alright? I didn't want you to get in danger. When I heard you were one wrong move away from dying to that Enderman, I couldn't stop worrying! I didn't want anything to harm you this way again; you're too valuable to me for that!"

We both remained silent for a moment. Judging from her facial expression, she was trying to think of something to retort with. Eventually, she did start speaking, but not in the way I was expecting. Her voice was gentle, and steady. At first, anyway.

"Steve. Thank you. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. But...what are you talking about!? I don't want to be protected if it means that you'll put yourself in danger!"

Her outburst left me speechless. She continued in a softer, but no less desperate tone.

"You're my partner! If you really want to protect me, stay by my side, and let me fight with you, okay? Isn't that what we agreed on?"

After a moment of pondering, I responded.

"Yeah...Okay, you're right. I'm sorry again for frightening you, but it's just that I haven't been thinking very clearly, recently."

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you. Just, promise me you'll be more careful from now on, alright? You're valuable to me, too."

"I promise."

A small smile was beginning to form on her pink lips. I was glad she was feeling better, but I had to ruin this moment of intimacy, sooner or later.

"Can I have my shirt back?"

"Huh? O-Oh, right! S-sorry..."

She retrieved my t-shirt from where she had placed it with rosy cheeks. After I put it on, she suggested we resumed our exploration of the fortress if I was feeling better. It was the logical thing to do, considering we hadn't even passed the gate yet, but still, there was something I wanted to ask.

"Rana, I don't mean to pry, but there was something bothering you before...Are you in the mood to talk about it now, or should I just forget about it?"

She turned her gaze to the floor, her expression unreadable. After a moment, she turned around, and sat next to me, with her back against the ledge.

"I'll tell you. Long story short, this place isn't what I thought it was going to be. When Johnathan said we'd go to a different dimension, I was thinking of an entirely different world."

As we were staring at the distant lavafalls, I realized she wasn't going to elaborate, unless I asked her to. And so, I did.

"Doesn't this count?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"Hmm... Not exactly... Here, let's take my world for example; blocks and cubes did exist there as shapes, but they're not what shaped the materials in it. The Nether, as well as your world, feel like they belong in the same universe. I was expecting something new...totally new... I guess that reminded me of home..."

It was a little difficult for me to imagine a totally new world, but I guessed she might've had more experience with that. That said, her answer gave me the perfect opportunity to ask the question that had been nagging at the back of my mind for some time.

"I see... Rana, can I ask you something else?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"If you...were given the chance to return to your original world...Earth..., would you take it?"

She hugged her knees against her chest and placed her crossed arms on top of them. She didn't reply, though, and her expression was stoic.

"...You don't have to answer if you don-"

"No."

That was her answer. Even though there was a hint of sadness in it, I couldn't help but feel joy, and relief when I heard it. Did that make me a bad person? What if something had happened to her that made her not want to go back? To make sure, I asked her reasoning.

"Really?"

She nodded along.

"Why?"

There was a moment of hesitation before she answered.

"Steve, do you remember the first we hung out together? Fishing at the pond?"

"Of course."

"I was telling you about something that had made me feel worried again. Even after I settled in Cornelia. Do you remember that?"

I recalled that moment. It was right before that drowned zombie ambushed us.

"I do, but you were cut off."

She nodded.

"At the time, I was relieved for the interruption. I wasn't actually ready to share that with you yet; I just rambled on... But now...I feel like I can trust you with anything. You see, what made me feel so afraid was a simple thought. The thought that all this is just a dream. That at any moment, I'd wake up back in my old world..."

I started feeling very concerned at what I was hearing. She didn't seem to take note of that, however.

"Haha...I don't wanna sound like I'm nagging or being ungrateful...but...I wasn't very happy with my life back home. Maybe, in a way, that was my fault, but...here...I feel like I belong. I feel loved. Back in my world...I was just the weird, gross girl that liked weird, gross frogs..."

Although her voice was strained, she was smiling – albeit bitterly. Before I could respond with anything, she resumed.

"I don't want to make this about me, either...so here's something I want you to know about my world: zombies, slimes, giant spiders, sentient skeletons, creepers... all of these creatures exist only in fiction – heck, creepers don't exist at all!"

She turned to look at me, before continuing.

"So, answer me this, Steve: If I told you that, even with all that, this world – your world, is still far more peaceful, and pleasant, and...kind...than mine...would you believe me?"

I stared at her with wide eyes, and she gazed back, that empty smile still etched on her lips. I couldn't believe my ears...How could someone so sweet and cheerful be hiding all of this inside her?

"So, yeah...Of course, there are things that I miss from my old world. I miss my parents. I miss being able to draw with actual pencils. I miss the animals I'd come across. I miss the waves of the sea, and the... and the trickling of rainwater. I miss all the food I used to love eating... Your world has almost no fruits or vegetables, you know...I'm surprised I haven't died of scurvy yet, hahaha..." her voice strained.

"But...no. I wouldn't go back." She leaned her head against my shoulder, before finishing. "As far as I'm concerned...I'm already home... I'm really happy I met you, you know?"

"Where did that come from?" I asked, taken aback.

"I was just thinking that many of the joyful moments I've had here probably wouldn't have been so sweet if it weren't for you...and you're so kind, and considerate...Thank you..."

It hadn't registered right away, but at some point in time, I had taken her in an embrace and begun gently caressing her head.

"I'm really happy I met you too, Rana. Honestly, when you said you wouldn't leave, it made me feel so happy...Just know this; I...I can't imagine a future in which I wouldn't want to have you close to me."

I couldn't see face due to the position we were in, but it didn't seem like she responded...at first...

Until I felt her trying to hold back her crying.

"You told me I don't have to hide my feelings from you... You...don't have to hide your feelings from me, either..."

At which point she broke into sobs, tightly clutching my clothes, as I kept stroking the back of her head. The emotions she had been building up ever since we set foot in the Nether were being let out. It's safe to say that we weren't going to explore the fortress just yet.

...

...

...

"Hey, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you feel ready to continue now?"

"Sure..."

We got up slowly and stretched. As I lifted my arms upwards, I realized that my previous injury didn't hurt at all anymore, so that was a good sign. As we got back on track, I could feel that our morale had noticeably improved! Unfortunately, the fire resistance effect had diminished completely, but I was confident that we'd survive without it.

At long last, we entered the nether brick room. Every wall had a single nether brick fence amidst the bricks, that formed a small window to the outside. At the center of the room, was a staircase that led down.

We descended it and ended up in a room with three diverging hallways: one on the left, one on the right, and one straight ahead. The walls weren't made just out of nether brick anymore, but also out of netherrack, at least, along the higher "lines" of the wall.

After some brief coordination, we ended up deciding to go right first.

Navigating through the empty, decrepit, dimly lit hallway was an eerie experience. Even with the insulation the walls provided, the ambient groans and hums of the hellish dimension couldn't be silenced.

Although at first, I had the impression that the hallway led nowhere, we found ourselves turning right once more. The corners in this place were sharp, making it difficult to see a potential enemy coming.

"You know, for a fortress, this place doesn't seem very...fortified..." Rana spoke up.

"Well, now that you mention it... Oh, look!"

I pointed forward, toward a single chest, placed at the end of the hall.

"Do you think it might be a trap?" I asked.

"Uh, I don't know... I can't really tell, but my sider senses aren't tingling, so we should be fine! Plus, I can't see anything out of the ordinary about this..."

"I'll take it."

We opened the chest, and in it, was...golden horse armor?

"What's this doing here?"

"Are there even horses in this place?" she asked.

"Have there ever been horses in this place?"

...

Mobs that fight with a dexterity akin to a human's, and now armor suitable for an animal that's probably not even native to the dimension...

We pressed on. Perhaps things would begin to clarify the more progress we made on our quest for the End... Having returned to the cross point, we chose the hallway that went straight ahead from the staircase.

A faint, metallic noise, one that resembled labored breathing, was echoing through the hall. Before we could investigate further, the sound of footsteps coming from behind us caused us to turn around.

It was another one of those forsaken wither skeletons. It had probably come from the left hallway, the one that we skipped.

I got the feeling that these creatures served as the fortress' guards, or something similar to that. Needless to say, this encounter was nowhere near as devastating as the previous one, thanks to the power of teamwork!

Having disposed of the threat, we speed walked down the hall, in the hopes that we wouldn't come across another distraction. As we did, the breathing-like sound was getting louder. We didn't have to walk too much longer, before reaching another staircase, one that led up, this time. I was beginning to suspect that this place didn't make much architectural sense... That aside...

It was on the first few steps, that we saw one. It was the source of the sounds we'd been hearing.

The book's illustration was fairly accurate, yet there were details that a static drawing just couldn't capture. This gaseous being was hovering in mid-air. Initially, I simply thought that the smoke was covering its body, but then I realized that this creature simply didn't have a body at all; it was a floating head.

Although its head, as well as its rods were golden, its entire lower jaw was dark brown, possibly due to the proximity to the smoke. In addition, the rods that hovered around it weren't still; they spun around it rapidly, much like how the moon circled around the earth.

It looked at us, with its black eyes, and the smoke flared up into a full-blown fire.

This was the Blaze.