So! the AO3 Author Curse finally happened to me. I'm going to the court!(i hope not) So this fic and others will be on indefinite hiatus(lol most of my ongoing fic is already on indefinite hiatus).
I already chose two Cursed Series for Steve. And now I need Blessed Series, anyone is welcome to give suggestions.
Also, give me whose pov I will use next?
Give idea for the name and species of two OC demi-human children, pls.
Eclair could scarcely believe her luck. Once a captive in the cold, damp depths of the castle dungeon, she had found herself thrust into a far more bewildering existence. Through a convoluted series of events, she was no longer a prisoner but a party member of one of Legendary Hero—a caretaker for several demi-human children her enigmatic leader had rescued. These children, including the brave and resilient little Raphtalia, had once lived in Seaetto's land.
Their current dimension was a realm that defied all notions of comfort—a place Shield Hero had cryptically labeled "Hell" or "Nether" in a terse note he handed to her when she inquired about this place. This dimension, with its endless seas of fire, rivers of molten lava, and bizarre, hostile fauna, was nothing short of a living nightmare. She vividly remembered the terror that had gripped her as she and the children followed the Shield Hero through the eerie, violet portal. They had feared they had met their end, condemned to eternal damnation in this hellish landscape. Even the Shield Hero, with his typically impassive demeanor, had shown very unnoticeable signs of shock upon entering this forsaken realm. Did he even know where that purple portal would lead to?
(Steve, for his part, had been astonished to find that his second home had morphed into something far more complex and textured than the blocky, simplistic world he had anticipated. Instead, it had adopted the appearance and essence of the dimension he had been summoned to.)
Despite being filled with mostly lava and fire, the Nether harbored some semblance of life, and vegetation does exist within this cave-like dimension. Most of it is technically edible if you can figure out how to prepare it. Eclair had spent the last few days experimenting with different combinations of these strange, mushroom-like plants, trying to create meals that were not only edible but also somewhat palatable. It wasn't an easy task. Though mixing the foraged ingredients from her world with this dimension's ingredients is the best way to do it, it is very economical since her unlawful imprisonment has deprived her of her equipment and money. Though the former is getting mitigated somewhat.
Initially, the children had recoiled from the unfamiliar food of this hostile environment, their instincts resisting the strange fare. Yet, hunger proved to be a powerful motivator, and they had gradually adjusted, driven by their need to eat despite their fear of the unknown and dangerous surroundings.
As she cooked, Shield Hero—whom she privately referred to as "Cube"—stood sentinel outside their makeshift camp. His unchanging, expressionless gaze was both a source of reassurance and unease. His mechanical movements, though unsettling, proved to be a protective presence. Despite his strange appearance and silent demeanor, Cube had proven to be an apt leader, guiding them through the treacherous landscape with an otherworldly precision. She found his methods and demeanor oddly very familiar with this place, though she could not quite place why.
The children had begun to warm up to him in their own way, though they still maintained a respectful distance. Raphtalia, in particular, had taken a keen interest in Cube and his Legendary Shield, although she didn't know about that yet, often watching him with wide, curious eyes as he moved about the camp. Eclair noticed this but decided not to interfere; the kids, especially Raphtalia, had been through enough trauma, and if Cube's presence brought her some comfort, who was she to question it?
The place they had set up was ruined but functional, nestled in the remains of what seemed to be a long-abandoned fortress that bridged over one of many lava seas. The crumbling dark red walls provided some protection from the harsher elements of the Nether, and Cube had even managed to reinforce certain areas using materials scavenged from her world, namely stone. Despite being surrounded by lava and fire, the Nether's default atmosphere is very dark and sometimes even foggy. As such, she has been using the numerous luminescent stones or mushrooms that adorned the terrain of this dimension, in addition to the colorful torches, including that one type of torch, crafted by Cube, to illuminate the fortress. There are several chests within this ruin, likely placed by Cube before, seeing him rummaging through the yellow and dark green chests without care. From these chests, she acquired her some of her current gear, which Cube gifted, to replace her old one.
The result was an unusual amalgamation of medieval architecture, a hellish landscape, and a touch of homeliness. The fortress now boasted patches of grass, flowers, and familiar trees from her home garden, thanks to Cube's efforts in uprooting and planting them in the Nether. While the children foraged for these items, Eclair accompanied them for protection and to hunt game for meat. Unfortunately, luck has been elusive in this regard.
(Luckily, many hostile, giant pig-like animals roamed the giant, red mushroom forest, one of two "forests" that can be found in the Nether, the other being a blue forest filled with teleporting tall monsters and the Nether's version of "horse.")
Dangerous is a grand understatement of how hostile the environment at Nether was.
From teleporting tall entities that were only hostile if you looked at their purple eyes, to giant, flying white cubes with tentacles that shoot out fireballs that somehow could be blocked with stone, to a scarily accurate skeleton, a head with spinning rods that shot three fireballs, to a splitting cube of magma. That was just the native being that called this hellish place home.
Then came the environmental hazards. The lava and fire are the main contenders. The terrain itself was equally treacherous, with sudden cliffs dropping into seas of lava or leading to fatal falls. Beds in all shapes or forms are prohibited from being used in the Nether, as they will explode the moment they are touched, so to sleep, they must return to their world. There's no water source in the Nether, and the moment your clothes catch fire, good luck making it to the portal. There are reasons they have to make the camp near the river, and why some of the children prefer their world over the Nether.
The danger came from every direction, and it was certainly not a place for someone like her to live, despite the various improvements and fortifications in their main base.
Lastly, the very reason why she avoided leveling in the Nether, despite how easy it is to kill some of the creatures, is the abundance of mud-like soil that formed half of the terrain here. The soil, dubbed Screaming Mud by herself, will sink your feet down like quicksand, thus slowing you down, and making you an easy target for the monsters around you. Another is the appearance of the soil itself. More often than not, the mud would form a face while she walked on it. And, the face frequently resembles that of a screaming person. When being stepped on with the enchanted gold boot Cube has given to her, yes, you read that right, coupled with the face, is now also screaming with such a haunted voice that she can't sleep when she hears them for the first time. Moreover, when Cube used that accursed mud to somehow make an eternal firepit of blue flame that seemed to never run out of fuel for their Nether camp, the screaming got even louder, and this time, a perfect, clear voice came from the mud, pleading for the fire to be snuffed. This caused some of the kids to have nightmares over the firepit when Cube lit it for the first time, with a few running off to her during their sleeping time, begging her to allow them to sleep with her.
Sensing he has done something wrong, Cube then does that weird thing with his wooden block with nine squares to create an item using the said mud, which somehow turns into a perfect cube, cubes of plain wood, and a few sticks, and within a blink of an eye, a small, unidentified wood item with a childish-looking blue fire appeared on his square hand. Then he does the thing again, but without the wooden cubes, only sticks this time with the addition of coal. A second later, a single stick with a blue tip appeared. As usual, when he gives the wood item and stick to her, like the sword and armor from before, a portable campfire, and a total of four realistic torches with a turquoise-colored fire materialize instead of a childish-looking stick from before, causing the campfire and other three torches to drop and their flame to get extinguished. But, this time, there are no more demented screaming or pleading voices coming from the fire. She is very pleased about that, although she is also curious about what exactly that mud is.
The torches and lanterns they used are colorful, as Cube has used a plethora of ingredients in his Creation magic when crafting the torches, including many variations of valuable minerals such as emerald, gold, and ruby, though only sparingly as Cube doesn't seem to have many of those. The result is the torches with many unique colors in their flame and a side effect, both good and bad. The turquoise flame provided a sense of tranquility when they were near one; the green fire from emerald ingot caused their crops to yield more than expected but caused their INT stat to drop; the purple one rendered one helpless to crystallization should they get burned with this flame; the gold fire increased their efficiency in doing anything, such as combat and cleaning, but made them frailer, as she had seen in her Status. And lastly, the dark blue fire from lapis lazuli could make any tool that got burned with it to be enchanted with temporary enchantment from Cube's original world.
It turns out that Cube, in fact, used to visit this particular dimension quite frequently long before he was summoned to Melromarc. This is evident from the fact that, while she and Cube are engaged in their leveling activities in the Nether, they leave the children behind for their safety. During this time, she makes an intriguing discovery: yet another fortress, which bears a remarkably striking resemblance to the one they had previously established and utilized as their primary operational base. However, while the earlier fortress was strategically positioned to span a vast and perilous lava sea, the new fortress appears to have been constructed in a manner that integrates seamlessly with a Netherrack mountain, thereby exhibiting a different and distinct architectural adaptation. On there, she made her discovery.
She was utterly horrified and deeply unsettled to discover that the mud-like soil they had been collecting to construct torches and start campfires was actually known by the name "Soul Sand" or "Soul Soil". As the name implies, this substance does indeed contain actual souls within it. The realization dawned upon her that they had unwittingly utilized a genuine soul to facilitate cooking, provide warmth, and illuminate the darkened areas surrounding their camp!
Had it not been for the exceptionally fortuitous and rather improbable series of events that led to her encountering the particular book she happened upon, which just so happened to be nestled within a rather limited and modestly sized collection of assorted literary works, including books, parchments, and ancient scrolls—this entire collection having been left in a somewhat disordered and chaotic manner by Cube (whose handwriting she immediately recognized) amidst the myriad of rooms dispersed throughout the expansive and labyrinthine interior of that second fortress—she would have remained completely and utterly oblivious to this crucial and immensely significant piece of information! Furthermore, in addition to acquiring this deeply troubling and significant knowledge, she has also acquired an extensive and profoundly comprehensive understanding of the names, identities, and classifications of every conceivable object, material, entity, and monstrous creature that inhabits the Nether, as well as those found in other realms known as the Overworld and the End.
The teleporting guy is called Enderman, and they dropped pearls when killed that could be used to teleport, depending on how far she could throw the pearl. The flying white cube is called Ghast, and their drop is Faubley's black powder and their tear sac, the latter being a component of the regeneration potion she has seen Cube use on the kids and other slaves at Beloukas's shop. The skeleton is... Skeleton, that dropped their bone when they died a second death. While she has not seen them yet, Skeleton has variations in the form of Bogged, a swamp version shooting a poisoned arrow, and Stray, a snow version that causes slowness when they shot, as well as the most dangerous one, Wither Skeleton that caused necrosis effect when they attacked. Blaze dropped their rod, which is the most essential part of their potion's brewing stand. The cube of magma is... Magma Cube, and they dropped fiery slimy balls, which are the main ingredient in the fire immunity potion.
When she decided to address Cube directly regarding his application of the essence of souls in their lanterns and torches, she found that he merely gazed at her with an expression of mild confusion, as though he were unable to fully grasp the nature of her emotional response. It was as if the concept of having utilized souls in such a manner was, to him, nothing more than a routine and inconsequential element in his array of ingredients. This realization struck her with considerable force, illuminating the profound disparity between their respective worldviews. For Cube, incorporating souls into such commonplace objects was an entirely ordinary practice. The harsh and unforgiving environment in which they existed seemed to him to be merely a standard backdrop to life. The relentless pace and constant demand for activity, without a moment's respite, appeared to be just another accepted and normalized aspect of his existence.
As she gazed out at the flickering soul flames of their campfire, the heat of the Nether's fire a constant reminder of their predicament, she felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. The camp was a small sanctuary amidst the chaos, and Cube's worldview and this dangerous, enigmatic world had made her more cautious but better equipped to face the trials ahead.
Cube has gone to... god knows where, leaving only her and the kids. While waiting for Cube to show up, since he was probably running off to unlock new forms or master some shield forms (she kind of regretted telling Cube's Legendary Shield's abilities), she took them leveling up to the nearest field. Due to Cube's original magic, the (temporary) enchanted iron sword, axe, pickaxe, bow, and chainmail armor (created using fire? How?) he crafted resized itself the moment they left Cube's cubic hand and landed the kid's hand, now perfectly sized for the kids to use. She told Cube to not hand permanently enchanted weapons and armor to the kids until they grow up or have a high level, seeing that Cube's cache of lapis lazuli, Cube's primary way to enchant an item, is dwindling quite rapidly. Fishing(don't ask her how he could fish a glowing book from the river) and bartering with the Piglin tribe(as long as you hold or wear some gold) doesn't guarantee an enchanted book every time he does it, so lapis lazuli it is.
Unlike the kid's gear, hers is handed down from Cube himself, considering he can't wield it anymore. She got two swords, a black sword with a purple glow that repaired itself at the cost of a small EXP point of monster and animal she killed, knocking her enemies back a few feet and would return to her no matter how far she threw them. Her second sword is made of wood, with its main purpose being to be able to damage spiritual-type enemies and channel her magical energy. It's imbued with an enchantment that allows her to channel spells through the wooden sword and amplify her attack. She had quickly become accustomed to this sword, seeing how easy it was for a weapon and tool crafted by Cube to be used, even with enchantment. Her bow had an enchantment of fire and an infinite arrow. Finally, a pickaxe made of diamond was used only to destroy a part of the black portal to the Nether, so none other than their group could access it. Curiously, obsidian is the only thing that remains in its blocky shape even after she touches it.
Her armor is varied, with each piece having a different enchantment. Her leather cap provides protection from fire. Her chainmail will harm her opponent should they manage to strike her, the reflected damage is proportional to her enemy's own strength. Her panty reduces damage from ranged and projectile-type attacks. Her leather boots allow her to walk on water by freezing water under her feet and slowing down her fall if she ever falls from a great height. It's the best armor she has, discounting the diamond and black armor set Cube had offered to her, with various enchantments instead of just one per piece. She didn't use those two because, one, it's too heavy, and two, her AGI nearly dropped to zero while wearing the armor, forcing her to adapt to a new fighting style.
Currently, she sporting blonde hair, courtesy of Dye Shield that Cube has unlocked. Also, for the first time, the children finally know who Cube really is, as Cube never used any other form of shield he had unlocked when we were adventuring together, only the basic shield and his copied original shield, which was square in shape, of course. Using Dye Shield, he dyed her strawberry-blonde hair into a blonde, almost gold in coloration. The reason she has done this is to make sure no one knows who she is, at least, not now.
So far, so good. There are no overly strong enemies around here, so they could be leveling up at leisure. Occasionally, whenever there are traveling caravans or itinerant merchants making their way along the road adjacent to their field, she would take the opportunity to approach and engage them. During these encounters, she would negotiate to exchange the various monster parts that they had gathered during their leveling-up process for valuable items such as herbs and precious minerals. Additionally, she would seize these moments to inquire about or discuss current global events, with a particular focus on news and developments pertaining to Melromarc and the activities or exploits of other Heroes.
Unlike her leader, it seems other Heroes have caused several incidents around Melromarc, like the plague at Mirso village, the destruction of Lerno village via Bioplant, and the destabilization of nobility through the killing of some nobles, both merited and undeserved. She is not saying Cube is without fault, as he almost deforested an entire forest if not for her and the kids replanting the falling saplings and using the highly effective white fertilizer made of Skeleton's bones, and he is far more interested in traveling the world over combating the Wave and helping the inhabitants.
Hmm, because of his disappearing act on the second day, there's nothing the Church could do to Cube other than besmirch his name and his appearance. The accusation of Cube raping the first Princess is being rebuked by her leader, Spear Hero, thus lowering the damage caused by the accusation. And by now, barely anyone cared for that, because the majority of the world thought the odd Shield Hero had already perished.
Eclair knew she had to make Cube understand his role and responsibilities. She intended to do so...once he returned from wherever he had vanished to.
Author Notes:
Instead of Overworld, the Nether and End dimension is now linked to Raphtalia's world, with Nether as Steve and his party's main base, and Eclair's land(and its underground) as their second base.
Btw, Steve's party operates under Minecraft Logic, which includes dealing damage. Type and affinity pretty much got ignored by Eclair and others. Water? Sword. Fire? Still can be damaged by a wooden sword. Undead? Eclair has Smite enhancement on her wooden sword. They basically could deal damage no matter what, unless their enemy is like Shulker or Ender Dragon with End Crystal.
Minecraft LogicRotS universe, but not always, sometimes it's mixed. As long the attack can be blocked, Steve will receive ZERO damage. Smite now worked on a Spirit-type monster.
Also, fuck you, Curse of Bindings.
Anyway, screw you ******'s mom. It's not my fault he died like pancakes. I'm not his caretaker, and he is an adult. It's not my fault he ended up under that truck. I hope you had a miscarriage during your pregnancy. I hope your husband died next.
