AN: Hey guys. Sorry this took so long. It really didn't have to since it was an easy Chapter to write. I guess cuz I'm getting settled into my new job and I didn't have as much time writing. Getting home late, I hardly had time or energy to write before going to bed to get up early.

Hope everyone is staying clean and away from Covid-19.

Anyway, enjoy this Chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. if I did, I'd make Phantoms a bigger threat.

Chapter 158

World-Shattering

'When you close your eyes and think of the world, what comes to mind?'

'Most people would probably see buildings or Kingdoms. Landscapes, mountains, plains, flowing rivers, sunsets, that sort of stuff. But for me, it's different. I don't see the world as a map.'

'When I first spawned, I had no one. Hell, you could argue before I spawned I had no one. I was just floating in a dark void, completely unaware of the world I would face. I was the same way leaving the Origin Zone. I didn't have the faintest idea where I was going, what I'd be doing, or what I wanted from life. As far as I could tell, the world was a scary place filled with explosive monsters, undead creeps, giant spiders, and ghastly skeletons. I was scared out of my mind. I could die at any time.'

'But I went out there… because Helena had mentioned that there were others like me. Other Crafters that spawned into existence before me. People with actual personalities and dreams and goals. I still had yet to find a purpose, so when I heard that, I decided it was worth the risk braving a Mob filled world. Just to get a glimpse of somebody besides myself. Just for the possibility to find a friend.'

'And then… I ran into Floyd. Quite literally, too. I was so excited to meet someone that, before I realized it, he ran away. So I followed.'

'And that's pretty much how I got to Ringwood. I stuck to Floyd like glue. Not out of survival, but because talking with somebody else made the world seem a little less frightening.'

'You could say… Floyd became a part of my world.'

'And then I met more people in Ringwood. You, for instance, who knocked me unconscious and hated me, and yet… it was thanks to you that I traveled to Daymonte. Whether I was forced to accompany you or not, I clung to you like I clung to Floyd, because I still had no dreams or goals. I was as lost as ever, simply sticking myself to others like a wad of gum.'

'And my world got a little bit bigger. A piece at a time.'

'I met Lenzington and stuck with him in Daymonte. I stuck to Cosmic in Halstatt and defended them from Griefers. And you were there too and I was so happy because I found out that you cared about me as much as I cared about you. We weren't strangers anymore. We were friends.'

'And then Soul… and Cara… and Leslie… and Erin… and Iron_Lung… and your guards… and even Bitters… When I close my eyes and think of the world, I can only see all of you. The people I've encountered, the friends I've made. They all mean the world to me.'

'I really am the worst. My friends mean more to me than the world. My friends… are my world. I just can't imagine where I'd end up without them.'

'To me, the death of one of my friends… it's like a piece of the world getting destroyed. That's what I felt with Floyd, and that's what I know I'd feel with Lenz or Soul or you.'

'So you don't have to worry about any of them dying. Because for the sake of the world, I'll put my life on the line before any of my friends have to. That's a promise.'

[?]

Darkness.

Movement.

I couldn't see a thing, and yet my legs felt like they had been in motion for a long time. Longer than my understanding that I had been walking. My body was always in motion, yet my mind was the last to put that together. That was the best way I could put it.

"V-Void…" I whispered the word, feeling some ill dread at the familiarity of it. It was all I could think of the darkness stretching before me. It seemed to go on forever, and I was bound to forever walk it.

…Why am I walking?

I tried stopping my legs and found they obeyed. My momentum still urged me forward, but my will was stronger, and I stopped.

My arms, which had been hanging limply or pumping with my momentum, found new purpose in roving my body. I felt around my body, touching soft fabric between my fingertips. Two pieces of cloth. One rougher, a hoodie, white with black sleeves. One smoother, a shirt worn under, light blue.

And under that…

My eyes widened as my fingers wandered beneath my undershirt, exploring a hollow pocket. A very hollow pocket.

I plunged my whole arm deeper under my shirt, but met no resistance. My breathing quickened as I ripped my hoodie and shirt up to confirm what wasn't there. A startled gasp caught in my throat as my eyes gazed upon my hollowed out torso and gut.

My hands fumbled keeping my shirt up and my legs started backtracking in my panic. The skin of my torso and gut had been cut away, revealing a hollow, black interior that had no end. No matter how far I reached into it, I couldn't touch the back.

I let out a sniveling noise as I dropped my shirt and tried to check my back to see if there was an exit hole, but instead, I found myself struggling with a black, single-strap backpack that wouldn't go away. For all my efforts, I couldn't pull it off. It was like it was grafted onto my back.

I fumbled and spun in place in that darkness, and while I fumbled and spun, the darkness began to recede and discernible shapes and colors bloomed into being. So much so that I banged my head against a stone oven.

"Ow…" I winced, taking a step back and checking my new surroundings.

I was in a small wooden room. Only one exit. The entire back wall made up of stone ovens.

I ran a hand against one, feeling the indent where fuel was probably meant to go. They were all of the same make. No two ovens were different.

"What is this place?" I asked myself.

Finding nothing from the ovens, I lifted my shirt again to check the hollow space where my chest should have been. It still freaked me out, but I was starting to understand that it wasn't a bad thing. It didn't hurt. Even when I was tentatively poking the edges where the skin fell away into black emptiness.

"Weird…"

On a guess, my fingers drifted to the waistband of my jeans. I struggled for a bit trying to undo the black belt, to no avail. Like the backpack it was stuck there. Still, I could slip my fingers under if I wiggled them enough. I felt around and paled when my fingers were met with nothing. Hollow down there too.

I rubbed the back of my head, only to find another shocking lack of resistance as my fingers phased through where my skull should be. I brought both hands out and felt around, tracing the edges of the hollow hole in the back of my skull.

I sucked in a nervous breath, my shaking hands falling back down to my sides. I had hollow spaces all over my body, yet I could still walk around. I was still alive.

…Or maybe I was dead?

I didn't know what I was doing there in that wooden room or how I ended up there. I didn't even know who I was or why I couldn't take off my belt or backpack.

I was so lost.

And there was only one way out.

I gripped the edges of the wooden doorway and pulled myself through it. I found that I had to brace myself against the walls as the wooden corridor shifted. It felt like it was moving.

The corridor widened into a hallway with doors on each side. There was a ladder in the middle going down and a door at the other end.

Every door had a sign next to it. Even the one I had just come from.

"Engine… Room…" I read, perplexed. Was that what those ovens were for?

I hobbled down the hall, bracing myself every step of the way. I felt so lethargic, like my whole body was telling me to lay down and shut my eyes. It was so tempting to just curl up against the nearest wall, but something kept urging me forward. Something kept urging me to hang in there.

'…ang in there… obb…'

The wooden walls of the hallway would occasionally pound with noise that made me flinch. I swayed and landed on one of the hallway doors. My hand fell on the knob, turning it, and opening it inward. The force with which I breached the door was like it was sucking me in. I fell from the effort, touching down into grass and gravel.

I glanced up and found myself captivated by the biggest mountain I had ever seen. It towered higher than the clouds and provided a picturesque backdrop to an otherwise disheveled town. Wooden houses and buildings rose up on either side of a worn, gravel path. One of them—a school—had been the one I exited out of.

"I was in a school, huh." I thought aloud. "But… wait… why would a school need an engine room?"

I checked the surroundings more thoroughly and spied a large fence encompassing the outskirts of the town. There was a sign by it, and I hobbled over to read.

"Miner's… Warren…"

My fingers traced the sign, finding the name oddly familiar. I must have heard it before, but I couldn't have. My earliest memory was walking the black Void before inexplicably winding up in that engine room… or school.

I walked back into the old town and explored a few buildings. They were in ruins, hinting that the town was likely abandoned. Other than that, I didn't know what I was searching for.

But then, something caught my eye. From between the ruined structures of an old building, I saw something glowing. It flickered orange like a warm fire, and I could feel it brimming with some hidden strength. I found myself picking through the ruins, drawn to the strong orange glow. The object pulsed as if it were alive.

*WHAM!*

I was knocked off my feet impossibly fast, my body crashing into another building and sliding to the ground. My head hung limply, dazed, and I saw double as I tried to recover.

The hell was that?

I slowly rose to my feet, bracing myself against the building as I scanned the village for what struck me. But before I could fully stand, I found myself sideswiped out of nowhere, my face crashing into the gravel.

My head came up fast, frantically scanning the area, but again I found nothing. I scrambled forward, hands and knees clawing against the ground as I tried to get away without knowing what or from where I was being attacked. Was the attacker invisible or something!?

"Stop…!" I called out desperately, only for something to strike my hollow gut faster than my eye could track.

But I definitely felt a foot.

I rolled with the impact, coming to a stop in the middle of the street. I coughed painfully and struggled to get away. When I glanced up, I saw something blur into sight.

It was like a walking silhouette. It was in the crude outline of a man, but everything from its skin to its clothing was as black and empty as the hollow points all over my body. And it was smoldering with dark vapor. It was like a phantom.

I couldn't discern its eyes from the rest of its black body, but I could tell it was looking at me. The phantom assailant raised both arms towards me and seemed to mutter something I couldn't hear.

Black spines shot forth from its arm, heading straight for me.

"AGH!" I dove aside as the spines speared past and splintered a wooden ruin. They were sharp and deadly. That was all I needed to know they were bad news.

I fled back the way I came, towards the school. Or the engine room. Or whatever! I just ran for it and away from the phantom trying to kill me.

When I reached the school, I rammed into the door with all my might, only to bounce off of it as it refused to open. My shoulder was throbbing painfully from the impact, but adrenaline put it on the backburner as my hands shot for the knob and began wrenching at it violently, trying to get it open.

"C'mon, c'mon!" I cursed, glancing back and watching a smoky blur zigzag between buildings towards me. I was terrified out of my mind. "OPEN!"

I kicked at the door, wrenching and pulling in every direction, but it refused to budge.

"I want out!" I screamed, just as the phantom stopped and raised both arms in my direction. Those razor sharp spines shot forth, aiming to riddle me full of holes.

There was a soft click as the door suddenly opened. I dove inside and slammed the door closed just before the spines hit. There was no rhythmic thunks or impact. I braced myself against the door, panting wildly and wiping my face. I felt flushed and sweaty, back in that hallway with the doors.

I put all my strength behind the door, praying it'd be enough to keep out the phantom. As seconds turned to minutes, there was no attempt at forcing open the door from the other side. I pressed my ear to it and heard nothing.

I did, however, spot a sign right beside the door.

"Stomach…?" I read, confused.

After a while, I let both hands off the door and stepped back from it. It didn't spontaneously swing open—if it did I would have shit my pants—and I didn't dare sneak a peek knowing that killer phantom was on the other side.

Instead, I just sat against one of the walls and caught my breath.

It was then I noticed the other signs by the doors. Six in total.

"Stomach…" I repeated before reading the others. "Heart… Liver… Bladder and Lungs…" That one had two. "Blood…" And the last one at the front. "Brain…"

All parts of the body. But why were the doors labeled with them?

"What the hell is this place?" I wondered aloud.

[Noman]

"Hang in there, Cobb." I said, wiping Cobb's forehead of sweat. I dampened a piece of paper with some rain water before laying it on his head, hoping the coolness would bring down his fever.

Cobb was lying down on a bed, muttering things in his sleep, if you could even call it that. It was more like a fitful fever dream with all the worst symptoms. He kept sucking in breaths in short gasps, his head tossing and turning, and his face twisted and tense as if he was running from some malignant demons.

He'd been like that ever since collapsing last night. And that scream… That horrendous scream that tore at my heart, it… it wasn't good. It wasn't good and I found myself swayed by the fear of the situation into making a rash call. There was no other choice. Three of our companions were fighting one another, accusations were thrown—serious accusations—and Cobb was in no state to do anything.

In that chaotic situation, Cobb was wounded or hurt. I didn't see anyone hit him, but that scream was so… was so…

…

He was damaged. That was the only way I could describe it. He was damaged—broken, maybe—and he collapsed. He was also the only one I could trust since the other three were being called cultists.

Admittedly, in that tense situation, I had snapped.

I didn't even think. I just put on the Severe Shield and covered Cobb. I think I cursed. I was so afraid of those three. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know who to trust. It was all so like that last group I traveled with to Zeppil, only so much worse.

I did the only thing I could think of. I took Cobb to safety and left those three in the woods.

I didn't even have a plan. I just knew I had to get Cobb away. Carrying him through the air, he started to convulse and his forehead burned like a hot furnace. It was the first I ever heard of a Crafter getting a fever, but he was clearly in a fitful state. I didn't know exactly what was wrong or what I could do, but I couldn't keep carrying him. He needed somewhere to rest.

I touched down somewhere in the Birch Forest and built a makeshift shelter under a low birch tree, digging into the dirt to expand it. If the Asmodeus went searching for us, we'd be impossible to spot under the leaves. I put a bed down before setting him down on it. As for our maps…

I turned to the chest off to the side. Inside were our maps—Cobb's and mine—and I didn't dare take them out so that Jade or Lenz or Floyd could track us. We were off the radar now. I had warned them that I would kill them if they tried to find us…

I was still wearing the Severe Shield as I maintained my vigil over Cobb's fitful rest. I hadn't slept last night. Morning came along with a torrential downpour that reflected the present mood perfectly, and I still stayed up. My eyelids felt like they were drooping, but I just shook my head.

If they showed up, would I kill them?

At this point, yes. I couldn't take the risk. Not with Cobb like this. Not when one or all of them could be cultists. I warned them off. If they came anyway, I wouldn't be responsible for what I'd do.

Outside, I could hear Zombies and Spiders and all manner of Mobs trying to beat down the dirt walls I had erected to protect us. They held strong, but the constant noise kept me on edge, making me think it would be easier for others to find us.

I'd have to clear it later.

At least the leaves were good for keeping the water out. Bad enough Cobb was sick without getting swept away by the flooding rains.

Cobb's face twitched and his head rocked to the side, a sharp hiss escaping his mouth. I leaned over with some cooked mutton in hand.

"Here, Cobb. Eat." I whispered encouragingly. "You need to eat to keep your strength up."

His lip quivered, but he made no sign to have heard me. I gently pried his mouth open, careful not to make any movements that could be considered an attack. The Severe Shield could not be activated.

I slipped the mutton past his lips, but his teeth wouldn't chew it. I tried doing it for him by moving his cheeks up and down, but he wouldn't swallow it. I couldn't get him to eat like this.

"M-Maybe I'll just save it for later." I put it away and resumed my watchful vigil. It was about all I could do while he was like this.

But so long as I was there, nothing was going to get to Cobb.

[?]

"Not so keen on checking out door number two." I mumbled to myself after catching my breath. Whatever phantom attacked me behind the 'Stomach' door, it looked like it wouldn't pursue me into the wooden corridor.

I didn't want to encounter any more phantoms, but at the same time, I could feel that progression was the only way out of this strange place. That meant picking a new door and praying for the best.

I decided to go for the only door that had two organs on its sign. "Bladder and Lungs…"

I carefully reached out and turned the doorknob, pushing inward. I fully expected to pop out the other side of the school at Miner's Warren.

Instead, I did a double take as I opened up into an extravagant mansion. Carpeted floors, a chandelier, a large dining room table, and out the windows, a large backyard with finely trimmed hedges, a small pond, and an outhouse.

"What the…?" I tried to turn back to compare the wooden corridor of doors and the mansion's interior, but the door slammed shut on me. I wrenched at the knob, but it wouldn't turn. Great.

I kicked it in anger before turning back to the mansion's interior. There were some stairs off to the side that led to the second floor and a comfy-looking sofa in a living room.

I crept along as I explored, finding the place comfortable and relaxing. I ran a hand along the dining table, marveling at all the space and wondering if there were enough people living here to fill the empty chairs.

It'd be lonely otherwise.

I walked over to a backdoor leading into the backyard. Looking more closely, there were a pair of small, glowing objects. It was just like that glowing thing in Miner's Warren. They pulsed with a comforting warmth that I could feel through the mansion walls.

I tried pulling the back door open but found it just as unmovable as the front door. I could see the backyard, right there, past the windows, but I couldn't get through to the glowing objects.

Instead, I reared back an arm, intending to crack open the window with my elbow. But when I struck, not only didn't the glass break, but it felt like I just rammed my elbow into a steel girder. I muffled my scream of pain into my hoodie, stepping away from the unbreakable window.

That's when I noticed the humming.

It was a jaunty tune—the kind people hum without thinking, and the kind people resort to when they're doing routine work.

There, in the kitchen, was the source. Standing over a stone oven was a phantom silhouette. It wasn't the same as the last one. This one was smaller and bobbed side to side in tune with its humming. It was so busy with the oven that it looked to not have noticed me.

Remembering how aggressive the last phantom had been, I tried to silently step away, only to step on a creaky floorboard.

The humming abruptly stopped. Then the screaming came.

I ducked a thrown object—an egg—and watched as it sailed into the opposite wall and a baby chicken burst forth. In hindsight, I probably could have taken the hit without worry.

Next thing I know, however, there's a rumbling from above. Something's moving upstairs by the creaking ceiling. There's someone else home.

A high-pitched shriek preceded the phantom tackling into my midriff. It wasn't very heavy, but it was incredibly catty, clawing at my face with sharp nails. They raked over one eye, causing me to close it before I shoved the phantom off and onto the kitchen table.

I bolted to my feet and ran for the front door, leaving the small phantom to recover on the kitchen table. However, leading up to the door, I heard fast footfalls from my right. I turned and recoiled when I saw a new phantom, slimmer this time, matching me stride for stride as it ran down the stairs. It kicked off the last step, diving towards me with a thin sword. I cried out as sharp agony speared through my shoulder, the phantom driving into me with more force and pinning me to a wall.

Both hands flew up and grabbed at the rapier buried into my flesh, desperately trying to yank it out, or else keep it from sinking deeper. Unlike the small phantom in the kitchen, this one was strong. It was all I could do just to match its strength.

I pushed off the wall and grabbed at the phantom's face, but my momentary advantage didn't last as I found my legs swept out from under me. My back struck the carpeted floor and the phantom bore down with all its weight upon the rapier, aiming for my gut.

Luckily, my gut was a hollow pocket of darkness at the moment, and the rapier sunk all the way up to the hilt. The lack of resistance had the phantom lose its balance and fall onto its side. I took advantage, pushing it off and away and crawling back on hands and knees towards the front door.

Then, without warning, my head pounded.

[Noman]

I froze after dispatching the last Zombie outside our makeshift shelter. A stillness had taken over the rainy night. The pitter patter of rain felt muted. The stormy clouds swirling above turned flat. The once pale, shining moon appeared as just a disk in the sky.

"The Bounty Days…" I whispered, realizing this had been around when I had slain Winslow.

Then came the ripple.

The ripple of flowing numbers and signs dyed in a rainbow hue. It fanned towards me, surging from the north. From the Origin. Space seemed to distort in that way it did whenever a Bounty Day occurred. The sights and sounds regained their luster and a great oppressive force pushed new information into the world and into my brain.

Swimming in my throbbing mind, a brief image flashed. One of a small animal with wings… a parrot? It sat on my shoulders and mimicked my voice.

Then, all too suddenly, there was another ripple. I knew this next one was for Sandra's demise at Floyd's hands.

A new image bore into my brain, this one with the force of a sledgehammer. I fell to my knees as I struggled to process it. This particular Bounty Day felt like a real doozy.

At first, I thought the image was of a standard Zombie. But then I noticed the tattered brown clothing. The blue-green, waterlogged flesh. The pale blue eyes. The sickly green ooze covering its head. This was no mere Zombie.

As suddenly as it came, the image vanished from my mind. The Bounty Days had passed.

I caught my breath and staggered to my feet. Bounty Days were so taxing on the mind. To have images and information forcibly thrust inside one's skull. It was an uncomfortable, intrusive sensation, and yet every Crafter had to experience it whenever a Bounty Day—

My eyes widened and flew to the makeshift shelter. "Cobb…"

I ignored my throbbing head and hurried inside and out of the rain. I sealed off the entrance and took in Cobb's prone form.

His head tossed and turned with eyes screwed tighter than before. I placed a hand on his forehead and recoiled when I felt it burn as hot as a furnace. His fever was going nowhere but up and it looked like he was still suffering from the effects of the Bounty Days.

"Cobb!" I whispered encouragingly, desperately wishing I knew what to do. "Cobb, hang in there. You can pull through this! I know you can."

[?]

I clutched at my pounding skull, a few fingers slipping into the fist sized hole in the back of my head where my brain should have been. If it was empty, why did it hurt so much. Why were images flooding into something that wasn't there!?

The first was of a strange material. A block of sand and gravel. Combined with a dye to make… powder? It was a powder of some kind.

My fingers felt something pop out the back of my head before a second image struck me.

A long, thin, pronged weapon. Sea green handle, white at the prongs. Looked like an oversized fork.

And I was… throwing it at something. An enemy. And it impaled the enemy… before returning to my grip.

Something else popped out of my skull, and this time my fingers snagged it. A smooth handle. I pulled back and felt nauseous as more and more of the smooth handle passed out the back of my skull. No wonder I had such a headache! The handle caught at the end, but with a final tug, I pulled it out.

It was the same oversized fork from my vision. Sea green, white prongs. The words came to my mouth.

"Trident…?"

So preoccupied was I in my sudden headache that I failed to notice the two phantoms. The thin one with the rapier struck out, slicing at my hoodie. I fell back and watched the smaller one from the kitchen hurry over to aid the other.

Without thinking, I reared back my arm and launched my latest weapon at my attackers. The thin one with the rapier ducked and the trident impaled the smaller one right in the gut. That phantom sputtered something before falling over and going still.

The second phantom, apparently enraged, flung itself at me with its rapier. It scored a hit against my arm before the trident returned to my grip. Just like in my vision. I took but a moment to gape at it before I jammed it upward into the gut of the second phantom.

The thin silhouette of darkness took a sharp intake of air before falling on its side. I yanked the trident back out, ready to attack again the second it moved, but it remained still. They both did.

I stood over their bodies, panting for breath. I started to back up towards the front door, but then I heard a sharp click followed by a door creaking open.

It was the backdoor. The one leading into the backyard. The one that refused to open. Until now.

Now, it was wide open and inviting. As if defeating the pair of phantoms permitted me access.

My thoughts were of those two glowing objects in the backyard as I stepped over the bodies of the phantoms and past the backdoor onto cool grass.

The two glowing objects were suspended over the pool, reflected in its clear surface. I couldn't reach them near the edge, so I waded into the chilling waters and swam for them.

As I got closer, the two objects glowed brighter and brighter. I found myself drawn to them, like a moth to a flame. I felt a great surge of strength flowing into me through them. I couldn't fathom how I ever did without them. Whatever they were.

They were strangely shaped, but glowing so brightly. I was so close I could touch them. I reached up and did just that, cupping one of them gently and lowering it down to my gut to get a better look.

It suddenly sank lower. Past my groin. The glowing object merged into my body, the warmth surging within for a solid second before petering out. However, once it was done, I felt stronger. Stronger than I had been since waking up in that engine room.

Bladder…

I took the second glowing object faster. It was shaped like a pair of wings or of a butterfly. Either way, I recognized it for what it was and brought it to the hollow pocket of my chest. It sank there easily, filling up the emptiness and lending me strength and comfort. Skin sealed up around it, knitting together over the reclaimed piece.

Lungs…

With both glowing objects—or organs—safely nestled within me, I waded back out of the pool and onto the grass. I heard another faint click from the mansion. Peering inside, I saw that the front door was open once more. Waiting on me.

I stepped over the bodies of the phantoms one last time before exiting that mansion and returning to the corridor of doors once more. Though this time, not quite so alone and not quite so defenseless.

[Noman]

It looked as if the worst of the Bounty Days' effects had passed. Cobb's expression softened, though his rest was still as fitful as before and his fever persisted.

I dabbed at his forehead, feeling useless. I still couldn't get any food or water into him. His mouth just wouldn't accept anything.

Even though there were no more Mobs beating at our shelter, I was still no closer to healing the fisherman. How long was this coma meant to last?

I sat back against the wall, maintaining my vigil. Now that the Bounty Days were over, there'd be nothing more to disrupt my watch. Nothing except the tempting reprieve of slumber. I had been up a full day with no sleep and my eyelids were already starting to droop. Fighting those Mobs didn't help preserve my energy either, even with the Severe Shield on.

But I couldn't just lie back and rest. What if Floyd or Jade showed up? What if they hurt Cobb? I had to be ready to protect him.

I yawned lightly, about to slap myself awake before realizing the Severe Shield might just kill me.

Instead, I leaned further back.

"Maybe I'll just rest my eyes for a minute…"

[Floyd]

It was the morning following the Bounty Day, and there was still no sign of Cobb or Noman. Either off the maps or from the Asmodeus windows.

"We have to find them." I muttered, glaring at the birch forest from one of the windows. Lenz was at the controls, though his exceptional eyesight was busy combing the woods for any signs of our missing friends.

"I am not saying we should not." Lenz began. "I am just wondering what we would do were we to find them? Nowhere seemed quite serious in his threat."

"You think a threat is going to stop that Endward Cult snake? She's probably out looking for them, same as us." I slammed a fist into the wall. I felt so stupid letting Jade get away two days ago. Cobb's screaming and collapse had been a shock—enough of one to get Jade to retreat—but knowing she was out there made my skin prickle. My Hacker smoke had yet to shut off with how swirling my emotions were. Black sclerae stared back through the reflective surface of the window.

"There's no telling what she'll do to them."

"At least their maps are off the radar." Lenz pointed out. Jade's was too. That was the first thing I checked after she got away. She wasn't leaving a trail for us. "Not to mention, Nowhere seemed intent on unleashing the Severe Shield should we attempt to locate them. He meant it, Floyd."

"I know."

"He might kill Jade if she shows."

"I know."

"He might kill us if we show."

"I know!" I snapped, dark spikes flying out of my arm and striking the wall. Lenz pointedly stared at them, but wisely remained quiet. "Doesn't change how I feel about this. Did you hear the sound Cobb made? He's hurting right now. He might even still be comatose and the last thing he ever would have known is his supposed friends trying to kill one another."

Lenz nodded solemnly, understanding how grave the situation was.

"We have to find him." I repeated. "We have to."

"At least we have the Asmodeus." Lenz noted. "Jade won't have an easy time searching the forest without an airship to ride."

"Then it's a good thing you boys are giving me a lift."

I spun at the familiar feminine sound, throwing out a volley of black spikes as my MultiAura surged with my anger. The spines sunk into the wall where the voice had come from. The Speaking Tube.

"Sounds like NOT showing in person was the right choice. Otherwise I'd be a pretty, green pincushion. Did you two have a good Bounty Day? See anything worthwhile?"

"She is speaking through the tubes." Lenz stated the obvious. "She must be on board somewhere."

I was about to initiate my Speed Hack to scan the entire ship, but Jade's voice stopped me.

"Oh yes, use your Hack. I'll be waiting with Splash Potions to paralyze you. Go ahead."

She was right. Just like Jade had pointed out before, my biggest weakness was rushing in. Better to be careful.

Lenz stopped the ship and drew his bow before walking over to the speaking tube. "You would not reveal your presence on board without a reason, traitor." He said, intending to keep her talking. "So say your piece."

"Traitor is such a harsh word." Jade's voice replied. It echoed through each of the ship's speaking tubes. There was one in every room. She could be anywhere. "I really did fight to protect you all. It wasn't just Cobb. Floyd, remember when I rescued you from that Berserker base? You would have died if not for me."

"Really?" I snarled. "Because two days ago, Lenz and I would have died to you. And you would have said whatever you pleased to make Cobb depend on you."

"I would have comforted him, yes." Jade admitted as we crept from the bridge into the corridor of doors. Jade could be in any one of them. "He never would have truly healed, but I would have done my best to get him close. I would have showered him in affection, ensuring he wouldn't have a moment to despair over your betrayals and deaths." There was a snort of amusement. "Tell me you could have offered the same."

"You're repulsive." I said with genuine disgust, kicking down the first bedroom door. Lenz was beside me, aiming in towards the room's speaking tube with his bow. Empty. "You manipulated Cobb for weeks. You and your charms were all to lower his guard so you could kill him. Do you even realize how cruel that is!? For your death to be at the hands of the person you care for the most!?"

"I've never experienced it, personally," she admitted, "but I have a good idea of what it looks like. I've seen it reflected in the eyes of the guild-members I've slain over the years."

"You fucking—!"

"But that's neither here nor there. I'm not the one Cobb cares for the most."

Her revelation made us pause just outside the next door. Lenz nudged it open while I kept chatting the Lieutenant up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I came close to running off with Cobb in a bit of a whirlwind romance." Jade's voice spoke softly. "It was a… a moment of weakness. I wasn't thinking." She cut off abruptly. "Unfortunately he just couldn't leave his friends. To him, we're all equal. We're all equal parts of his World."

"Not anymore." I said, passing another empty room. "I promise you I'll tell Cobb everything! I'll expose you for the traitorous snake you are!"

"I'd love to see you try." Jade's smile could be heard in her voice. It was triumphant and knowing. It made me want to punch her teeth in. "See, I know Cobb better than you do."

"We have been with him longer." Lenz challenged.

"Oh yeah? Did you kiss him?"

Lenz sputtered and Jade's laughs echoed through every speaking tube as if there were twenty AceOfJades making fun of us. I slammed another door open. Empty.

"Ahaha! What about you, Floyd? Did you share a bed with him when I wasn't looking? Ahaha!"

"I don't know what you're bragging about." I replied evenly. "You're basically admitting you whored yourself out to him."

At once, the laughter died out. I could hear a faint simmering through the speaking tubes and I felt satisfied knowing I shut her up.

"Go on. Keep laughing. Tell us all about how the Endward Cult pimped you out to Cobb to gain his trust. You must be their most trusted prostitute if they left it to you."

"My Executive never—!" She cut herself off with an angry hiss. "For your information, Cobb and I never took things that far. It wasn't like with other guilds. Herobrine knows the things I had to stomach when dealing with the Frost Golems and the Desperados—the lengths I had to go to gain their trust. The beds I had to warm, just to—" She shuddered over the speaking tubes. "It wasn't like that with Cobb. It wasn't the ugly thing you're making it out as. With him, everything was genuine."

"Except you." Lenz jabbed.

"Except me." Jade agreed. "I could never tell him who I was. There could be no full disclosure from me, but Cobb left himself open. I saw him at his best and worst. I know his wants and self better than you two. I know him inside and out."

"You don't know shit." I spat.

"I know why he collapsed." She revealed, making the two of us pause. "I know why he reacted the way he did and I can guess what he's dealing with right now. I know that much… as should you, his closest friends."

"If you're gonna start lecturing us on how we should be more like you—!"

"There's nothing wrong with Cobb physically." She went on. "But his mental state has suffered a devastating blow."

"That does not make any sense." Lenz shot back. "He collapsed. He was knocked out and convulsing. His mind could not have been so stressed that it would affect his body functions like that. Thoughts are just thoughts."

"You underestimate what it means to dedicate yourself to something." Jade spoke in a measured tone. No mirth or smiles. "Cobb confided in me his concept of his World. He sees it as the connections he's made with others. He has placed a lot of worth in the people he trusts. We're all part of his World, and he staunchly opposes any threats to that concept. So when the threat to his friends came from within his circle of friends—for something he's been attached to for so long—that mental paradox had physical repercussions. He refused to believe it, and he broke down… as we saw."

"But it should all be in the mind." Lenz tried to reason. "Crafters cannot just collapse under the strain of their mind like that."

"His World is something that Cobb has clung to since spawning in Minecraftia. It's his anchor. His rock." Jade's voice echoed from the speaking tubes. "And when you're suddenly without, it can make you woozy. It can make you sick. The expression, 'died of a broken heart'—it's not really how it happens, but you can get ill if something is missing."

"You said you have a guess on what's happening to him now?" I asked, scanning another empty room. Half of the rooms had been checked. Still no sign of the traitor.

"I do." Jade confirmed. "What Cobb witnessed the other day—the three of us fighting—It was in such conflict with his image of his World, that he is now at war with it, within his own mind and body."

"He is at war with himself?" Lenz asked, confused. He didn't look to be believing it, but his expertise was in science and redstone. These were more matters of the mind and soul.

"So what'll happen to him?"

Silence blanketed the Asmodeus as Jade struggled for an answer.

"Hey!" I snapped. "What's going to happen to Cobb!?"

"…It won't be a pleasant experience." She sighed. "But when he comes out of it, he'll finally realize who he's truly meant to side with."

"Let me guess. You?"

"Ding ding."

"I can't believe this—Cobb's only like this because of your betrayal!" I accused, smoke flaring from my eyes. "You snuck yourself in. You pretended to be his friend. He trusted you."

"I already told you, it wasn't like that. It wasn't pretend…" There was a pregnant pause. "…Not all the time, anyway."

"You tried to kill us! You set this up!"

"You fought me right back!" She shouted, and indeed her magnified voice seemed to descend upon us from all sides. "We could have kept it to ourselves—Cobb never needed to know. I gave you an out! Just like I'm giving you one now…" She tacked on at the end.

"What does that mean?" Lenz asked.

"I'll keep this brief since you're probably almost about to find what room I'm speaking from." Floyd and Lenz shared a look before they picked up the pace, searching rooms recklessly in an attempt to locate the traitor.

"When Cobb recovers—and I know he will—don't even bother showing your face to him. Just take the airship and sail off as far away from Cobb as possible. Do that, and you can live."

"We'll never leave Cobb to you!"

"He'll never believe you over me." She swore. "You'll only cause him more pain if you meet again. It'll be easier for Cobb to accept if the traitors took off. At least then, he won't have to kill you himself."

"Cobb will know the truth!" I shouted. "He'll believe us!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Her voice went out with a muffled crackle.

"Jade? JADE!"

We dove down the ladder to the loading bay. It was the last room we hadn't checked yet. Of course, the loading bay doors were wide open and the place was empty. Lenz hurried over to look out for any signs of the green-haired parkour master, but there was nothing. If she was here, her green attire was perfectly camouflaged in the forest below.

"Comparators." He cursed, shutting the doors. "She's gone."

"Yeah." I paced the loading bay in an effort to recollect myself. "Fuck her. You know, with a performance like that, it's a wonder we never pinned her as a bad guy."

Lenz was oddly pensive, frowning down at the floor.

"What is it?"

"…Do you think she is right?" He asked tentatively. "Do you think Cobbert will choose her over us?"

"Jade is a Lieutenant."

"We know that." He stressed, pointing to the pair of us. "But we have no evidence. We have nothing to prove her culpable. It will come down to her word against ours. And… and she and Cobbert were close."

I shook my head. "No. No, you want to know why she came here? You want to know why she made that 'offer'? It's not because she's so sure she'll win."

"It's because she's scared she'll lose."

[?]

Armed with my trident—and with the hole in my torso not nearly as empty anymore—I picked out a new door to enter. Not out of curiosity, but because I wanted more of those glowing organ pieces to fix myself. Each time I obtained one, I felt stronger. Things stood out with greater clarity, too.

If a few is good, more must be better.

I stood before the Heart door, feeling it was one of the more vital pieces to obtain. Same with the Brain. The heart pumped blood, right? Without one, you'd die.

Then again, with a gaping hole in your chest and back of the head, you'd probably die all the same.

I gripped my trident tightly, expecting another phantom silhouette, before I pushed open the door.

I found myself exiting a cozy Inn and stepping onto a wooden walkway. I could feel the difference in climate as the air became hot and balmy. Not to mention the environment was drastically different with tall, vine-covered trees reaching towards the sky. A dense jungle canopy blocked out the sun.

The door I entered slammed shut with a sound like a gunshot. I readied my trident as I walked the wooden path.

The wooden walkways looked to be suspended between trees, miles above the jungle floor. I took a cautious lean and gulped at the drop. Wooden huts and buildings were clustered around key points. It reminded me of a collection of tree-houses.

There seemed to be a massive, mother-of-all trees towards the center. It was that that I walked towards. The Heart of the community.

As I went, I thought I heard some faint footfalls amongst the foliage. Every time I looked, however, I only caught a fleeting glimpse. Indistinctive dark shapes and blurs. Something was moving fast, swinging from tree to tree, jumping across gaps, and following me as I made my way to the large tree.

I tried to stay cool. Clutching at the smooth handle of my trident, it filled me with courage. I beat those last two phantoms easy enough. If this one showed its face, I'd beat it too.

Finally, I touched the trunk of the massive tree. This one was taller than any other and felt special in a way There was a wooden path that corkscrewed all the way up, branching (Ha) off into similar suspended wooden walkways and tree-houses.

It was on the next level that I found what I was looking for. A glowing gold object looking suspiciously like a heart hovered right before the next path. Unlike the last ones, however, it floated in a lazy circle, unbound by the laws of gravity.

I approached it with a relaxed gait, watching as it completed its rounds. As it grew closer, I simply held up my hand and watched as it floated into my palm.

My eyes widened. Pain. Unendurable agony ripped through my chest. I let out a pitiable wail that rattled the trees as I found myself clawing at the crushing torture ripping through my being.

I knew I was dead. It was pain beyond imagining. Pain past endurance…

I flung the golden heart aside as if burned. The crushing pain stopped as soon as it left my fingers to resume its strange orbit once more.

I fell back, panting from the sensation, and scrambling away from the heart so it wouldn't ever touch me again. That pain had been so great and terrible that even looking in the organ's direction was causing my eyes to water. I had to avert my eyes.

That's when I saw the lithe phantom touching down amongst the walkways, brandishing a curved blade. A Cutlass.

"I'm out of here." I didn't care about the heart anymore. This had been a waste of time. That pain wasn't worth reclaiming it. Instead, I ran down the corkscrew walkway back to the level I had come from.

I took the steps two at a time, my ears catching faster footfalls as the shadowy silhouette kept pace.

Running along the suspended bridges, I gawked as the phantom performed great feats of acrobatics and flexibility, leaping across large gaps and over steep drops in its pursuit of me. It was just so agile!

I was nearly at the Inn when the phantom darted across my path. The Cutlass flashed out, nicking my hoodie. I jabbed out with my trident, but the phantom sidestepped it before slashing at my chin.

The Cutlass sang as it flashed through the air in a series of complex crescents. I couldn't hope to keep up with the phantom's swordplay and found myself falling back towards the edge. Just before I was about to teeter off, however…

Another phantom arrived. This one wielding a wicked scythe.

Before I could dread another two-on-one, the freshly arrived phantom defied my expectations by attacking the first one, batting it away.

Scythe and Cutlass met in a shower of sparks as the scythe-wielding one kept itself between me and my attacker. I didn't wait for an explanation as I ran away from the fight, getting to the door of the Inn I came in from.

I took one last glance back, watching as the two dueling phantoms disengaged. The scythe-wielding one—I could have sworn it gave me a side-eyed glance, making sure I got out safely.

"Thanks!" I shouted, the word springing from my lips on instinct before I shut the door on the wooden walkways of the jungle.

[Noman]

Awareness returned to me after hearing a low, wet, gurgling sound.

I shifted slightly, turning my shoulder to the noise and keeping my eyes shut as I tried to return to the comfortable leisure of sleep. It was easier said than done with the offending sunlight prickling at my eyes, straining to get in and urge me to start the day. All I wanted to do was curl up into the soft grass and—

Wait. Since when do I sleep in the grass? Usually I have a bed. Oh, right, I lent my bed to Cobb—

"COBB!" I jolted awake, pushing off the grass and forward in one alarmed spasm. It was daytime. What should have been a moment to rest my eyes wound up being a night of neglecting my vigil. And by those low, wet, gurgling sounds coming from Cobb's stomach, he was paying for my mistake.

He was starving to death.

We had been hunting for food two days ago and the last thing I remembered him eating was rotten flesh. Then he had his episode and collapsed. Rotten flesh was only ever a quick-fix foodstuff meant to temporarily keep someone from starving. It afflicted a Crafter with Hunger status and made one's Hunger Meter deteriorate faster.

After that, Cobb had been out for a day and a half. I couldn't get him to keep down any food or water. I should have been keeping better track of him, but now his Hunger Meter was completely empty. His starving stomach was starting to contract and shrink, drawing away from his Health Meter at a steady rate.

When that ran out as well, he'd die of starvation.

"No..." I whipped out a porkchop and desperately tried to force it down Cobb's throat. He wouldn't take it. "No, no, no..." I took off the Severe Shield and lightly patted at his cheek. "Cobb, wake up. Snap out of it. Please. You need to eat something or you're going to die." He shivered slightly, his body convulsing and face twisting as his stomach wrung out his deteriorating Hearts. His fever was still as high as ever and the slight twitches and sharp intakes of breath only spoke of his fitful, comatose state.

There was only one thing I could try. I tore open my backpack and rummaged around for the smooth glass neck of a potion. Healing II and Regeneration II. I picked the top half of Cobb off the bed and tilted his head back. Then, with the other, I coaxed the red liquid of the Healing Potion down his throat. He coughed violently through it, but I didn't stop until he swallowed it all and the Heart tattoos on his arm were a Healthy red. Then I did the same with the Potion of Regeneration. He was racked with violent, wet coughs, but it was for his own good as I watched his Hearts tick back up to full.

It only lasted a second before his starvation started to eat away his regained Health.

That was all the healing potions I had.

"Cobb." I pleaded.

Another half Heart drained away like lifeblood.

"Cobb!" I shouted. "WAKE UP!"

Another half Heart gone.

I shook with helpless frustration before rearing back a hand and flinging the empty potion bottles against the walls of our makeshift shelter. I drove a fist into the dirt, my eyes misting over as I struggled to think of what to do.

All the potions had done was buy Cobb a few more moments. I needed more. A lot more. Enough to keep his Hearts up until he overcame whatever illness was afflicting him. But I had no brewing stand. I had no ingredients—I didn't even know the proper recipe!

I would have to get them. Jade had mentioned there was a village nearby—it was where we were going to dock the Asmodeus in time for the Bounty Day before Cobb collapsed. They'd have to have an alchemist or apothecary there. If not, I'd scour the place for any healing potions I could find and pay through the nose for them. Money was no object.

But it wasn't exactly close. Even with the Bottes Zephyr, I'd have to leave Cobb for at least half a day just to get there and back.

He didn't have half a day.

I couldn't just move him, either. He was in no condition to go out anywhere.

I racked my brain for an answer, watching helplessly as Cobb's life ticked away. He was dying in my incapable hands. If he could just wake up and eat something, it'd be fine! What was wrong with him!?

This wouldn't even be a problem if I had the Vivlio Zythopoiias. With that book, I could just instill him with a permanent Regeneration effect to keep him alive. If I just had that artifact, I could—

That line of thought abruptly cut off as a new idea took hold. It was a desperate idea—one that went against everything I felt about the matter—but Cobb's life was literally hanging in the balance. If I didn't do something fast, he'd be gone forever.

Nobody else was here to make the choice.

With trembling fingers, I reached down and undid the buttons and fastenings of Cobb's green-dyed leather tunic. I pulled it off and over his head before setting it down beside the bed.

Then, with great caution, I reached for the Severe Shield.

In any other circumstance, I would never allow anyone else to wear such a cursed artifact. I would never let anyone wield as destructive and deadly a power that the diamond chestplate held.

But, as I tugged the armor past Cobb's head and maneuvered his arms through the holes by the shoulders, I watched as the Hearts on his arm quadrupled in number. His starvation was still hurting him, but it had a slower effect on his Health Meter.

It was all the protective enchantments on it. The Severe Shield's enchantments weren't just massive damage and Thorns. It was imbued with Health Boost and Resistance, meaning that Cobb's Hearts would hold out for longer while he was wearing it.

Hopefully long enough for me to get more healing potions.

I laid him back down before searching his Inventory for something to mark our makeshift shelter. I found the perfect thing in the form of Cobb's Beginner banner. I then started packing up my gear, pulling the Bottes Zephyr on as I went.

I broke open a gap in the leaves before sealing it back up. Cobb would be safe from any attackers with the Severe Shield on, but I didn't want to risk the off-chance of Floyd or Lenz or Jade finding him. From the outside, it would be impossible to distinguish the shelter from the other birch trees. I set down the banner, however, so I'd know where to fly down when I returned with the potions. If I lost Cobb, there was a good chance he'd eventually die, even with the Severe Shield. It would just take a while.

"I'll be back in a flash." I promised before kicking up into the air and flying in the direction where I remembered the village to be. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Rain pelted my face and wind buffeted my body. I bore it all, knowing Cobb needed those potions. There was no sign of the Asmodeus anywhere, so that was one less thing to worry about. I also kept a mental map of the geographical locations so I'd know where I was.

Mt. Mur—that giant mountain—was always to the northeast. It'd be at my back on my return trip.

Stay alive, Cobb. I mentally pleaded. Just stay alive.

[?]

"I want out!" I screamed, kicking at the wooden corridors while my hollow gut twitched and squirmed in discomfort. It hurt like a constant, unending ache—a steady pressure that doubled me over. It took everything just to stand as my squirming innards squeezed tighter and tighter.

Why does it hurt? There isn't even anything inside!? I bemoaned, stretching the fabric of my hoodie and the hollow pocket of emptiness within.

I was curled up against a wall, breathing hard as the pain persisted. And I was still stuck in the same damn corridor. I still had to go through the doors and the phantoms, and it was with dread that I looked to the remaining doors and finally decided, "No more."

I ignored the doors entirely, instead using my trident as a walking stick to hobble over to the ladder in the center of the hallway. I slid my legs down into the hole and atop one of the rungs before lowering myself down. I had to go slow, as my movements were still hobbled by the throbbing in my gut. One rung at a time. Slow and steady.

When I finally touched down on a solid floor, a glanced around and found myself in a large, open room with doors on either side. These doors, however, were wide open. Not like the ones in the upstairs corridor.

I hobbled over to them, wondering where they would take me, only to pause at the threshold. Staring back at me was an all-consuming, inky darkness that went on forever.

I braced myself against the doors and looked out. Nothing as far as the eye could see. Nothing but an empty, black void.

And the wooden structure I was trapped on? Looking up and out from the doors, I spied that the structure was more akin to a ship. A flying boat with black sails and wooden wings, of which I was located at the underside.

I breathed harshly through the pain in my gut as I just stared at the emptiness. Looking down, the dark void seemed to extend just as far down as in any direction. If I jumped, there would be no telling how long it would take for me to hit something.

If there even was anything beyond this.

I collapsed back into the airship, leaning against a wall and rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palms. I had to face the facts. There was no way off this ship. There was nowhere to go. I was truly trapped, with the only option being to face those doors and the mysterious phantoms and the pieces of myself they guarded.

But wait. I lowered my hands, pondering to myself. I'm on a giant flying boat. There has to be a way to pilot it. Maybe I can steer it somewhere else?

It was the only idea I had, and it was a desperate thing to cling to. It would also involve going through another phantom-guarded door, but this one would lead to something. The control room. At the front of the ship.

With visible effort, I pushed myself up with my trident and hobbled back to the ladder. If climbing down was hard with a throbbing gut, climbing up was torturous. It took strength to pull my weight up each one of those rungs, and every flex of muscle only exacerbated the pain clawing at my stamina. It took twice as long to get up that ladder as it did to get down it.

One I hauled myself over the lip, I laid out on the floor of that accursed corridor, taking a minute to gather my strength. Then, with a strained grunt, I rolled onto my hands and knees and crawled over towards the front of the ship. The door that would lead me to the helm.

Brain.

How fitting that the organ in control of major motor functions would be the label for the control center of the ship. I pawed at the doorknob, turning it on the third or fourth attempt, and crawled inside.

Wooden floorboards turned to cold, hard, stone bricks as I found myself in a different corridor. This one was much larger and grey, and the door I had walked through was a locked iron door when I turned back around. It was just another sign that the doors opened up into strange places disjointed from the flying hub I started at.

What was the significance for each location? Miner's Warren. An exorbitant mansion. A jungle of suspended treehouses. And now a stone corridor.

I hobbled along, leaning heavily on my trident, as I looked around for my missing piece. My brain had to be somewhere. Same with the phantom.

Suddenly, my leg felt resistance as I tripped over something thin and tense.

Tripwire!

The stone floor opened up before me, revealing a bright pit of boiling hot lava. I windmilled my arms and just managed to maintain my balance before collapsing backwards. I crawled away from the pit, feeling worse knowing the stone halls were booby-trapped.

I stabbed my trident into the floor and picked myself back up, intending to go a different direction. However, instead I was knocked aside when an arrow sunk into my back.

"What is it now?" I hissed, whipping my head to the side to spy a new phantom. This one with a bow.

The new phantom wasted little time using the weapon, firing a volley of arrows my way. His aim was too good, always hitting the same spot. Despite the twisted pain in my gut, I lifted my hoodie and puffed it out, daring the phantom to strike. The arrows sunk into the hollow pocket where my organs should have been, sparing me some damage.

The phantom retreated as I advanced, turning down a stone crossroads. I followed close, but turning the corner I was blasted back by a primed block of red explosives. I struck the far wall, dazed, while the phantom fled further into the stone halls.

Running on fumes, I braced myself against the wall before pushing off and chasing the mysterious phantom. Every crossroads I came to, it was to find just a glimpse of that archer slipping around a new corner. I followed every step of the way, desperate to put an end to this thing's aggression towards me.

Finally, I turned down a long stretch of corridor. The archer phantom was there at the end, firing arrows. I reared back a hand and lobbed my trusty trident as hard as I could, tanking the arrows for my troubles. The trident flew true and, with an impact that shook the walls, the trident pierced the phantom's chest, skewering it to the far wall.

There was a moment of silence as the trident held it's felled foe, but then it pulled out, returning to its wielder, and the phantom's body slid to the ground, dead.

I caught the trident and leaned on it heavily, nursing the arrows in my shoulder and knees. I used the wall to support me as I hobbled forward towards the bright glowing organ that just descended from the ceiling. It hovered there, waiting for me.

"Brain..." I mouthed weakly, so close I could touch it.

I hesitated for a second, recalling the unbearable pain attempting to reclaim my Heart had caused, but eventually I found the courage to lean my head forward, bumping against the bright organ and feeling its warmth suffuse my head as it filled the emptiness its absence had left. I reached a hand up and felt the hole in the back of my skull reseal itself.

Then, the realization hit.

It hit with the force of a train.

My name? Cobb! The airship? It was the Asmodeus! Miner's Warren, the mansion, the jungle, the stronghold? They were all where I met my friends! The same friends who—

I felt woozy as my thoughts turned darker. My friends... we were in the birch forest. They were... fighting? Why were they fighting? They were my World. Why was my World at war? Why was I doubting any of them? I cared for-

I horrified gasp tore itself from my throat when I opened my eyes to look upon the phantom I had slain against the back wall.

Only... it wasn't a shadowy, obscure phantom anymore. It was Lenz.

"No..." I recoiled, looking down at the trident which had claimed his life. I tried to throw it away, but it came right back into my hand. "NO, this can't be real!"

"But it is real, Cobbert."

I let out another shriek as the limp body of Lenz started to get back up. His tinted goggles looked at me coldly as he raised his bow. I fell back with a whimper, my body shaking like a leaf.

"Lenz, please, I-I didn't—"

"You killed me because I am your enemy." He cut me off, every word feeling like a dagger to my soul. "I was never part of your World. None of us were. We were all cultists, fooling you."

"No... no..." I scrambled to my feet as Lenz drew back his bowstring.

"We were never your friends."

"NO!"

I hit the ground running in the opposite direction as arrows whizzed by my head. I turned down every corridor I came across with little to no idea where the exit door was. I just knew I had to get away. The pain in my gut didn't bother me anymore.

Somehow, I found myself back at that iron door and I crashed through it without stopping, collapsing into the wooden corridor of the Asmodeus I was familiar with.

Only now, all the doors were open and the phantom likenesses of my friends were all crawling out. The ones I had fought from before. Some of them I had slain only for them to reanimate like Lenz.

Floyd from Miner's Warren. Erin and Wynn from the Captain's mansion. Jade from the treetops of Jolin. Even Noman, who I had yet to encounter until now. They all glared at me with cold, indifferent eyes.

"I hated you from the moment I met you." Floyd spat.

"You were just an insignificant Crafter I had to babysit." Wynn spoke coldly.

"You're so pathetic." Erin insulted.

"I never loved you. It was all fake." Jade dismissed.

"I'm a better Billionth than you." Noman spoke quietly.

"Your time has come, Cobbert." Lenz's voice sounded last, emerging from the door I had just come from.

"This... this can't be real!" I screamed in denial. "You can't be real!"

They all drew their weapons and advanced on me as I ran over to the one door that hadn't been opened yet.

Blood.

I beat my hands futilely against the wooden surface. "Get away! Get away from me!" I shouted before ramming my shoulder into the door with enough force to break it open. The world spun as if I tumbled head-over-heels and when I righted myself...

I was lying at the foot of a bed, sweating profusely.

I spun around, trying to recognize the fresh scene I had stumbled across. It was a small room covered in foliage and dug into the ground to add space. There was a single bed and a chest. No exits. And the twisted clenching in my gut had redoubled. My trident was missing and... why was I wearing a diamond chestplate now?

No chance to think. A diamond axe came crashing down where I had just been. Lost_Soul emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, except he couldn't be here. He was still in Akasha helping out Obsidian. I told him as much, trying to reason these figments away.

"You're not real!" I shouted. "This is all in my head! My friends would never try to attack me!"

"Don't lie to yourself, loser." The figment growled in the same way Soul usually did. "They've already attacked one another. At least one of us is an enemy."

The rest of my phantom friends appeared on all sides.

"And you."

"Can't."

"Tell."

"Which."

"From."

"Which."

I crashed through the foliage acting as a wall, running past a familiar banner and into the rain. Except, I couldn't run. My Hunger was too low. I could only weakly walk. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed as I meandered past birch trees, fleeing from my friends as they hunted me down.

If anyone else had been watching the scene, they would have only seen a lone Crafter—with no others in pursuit of him—bursting from a hidden shelter of leaves, wearing a diamond chestplate that radiated deadly power.

[Noman]

I didn't land in Birchbark Village so much as I slid into it like a baseball player slides into Home Plate. I left slack-jawed Crafters and Testificates in my wake as I demanded to know where the nearest apothecary or alchemist was located.

They pointed me down the crushed gravel street and I sped along, bursting through the front door and sweeping past the line of Crafters. They made to complain, but I had eyes only for the proprietor.

"Healing Potions!" I gasped. "Splash Potions of Regeneration and Healing. I need all your stock."

"Look, pal," the proprietor began before I emptied all my emeralds onto the counter. He shut up quickly enough and hurried to comply.

I spied an ender chest off to the side. I dumped out all the useless gravel and items I could spare from my Inventory before wrenching the chest open and withdrawing all the emeralds I had. I added them to the pile, caring little for what rolled off and onto the floors. So long as he knew I was a valuable customer, to be dealt with and appeased immediately. I laid all my accrued wealth on the table and the proprietor actually had to call for assistance to help hand out all the potions.

I cleaned out my Inventory. I tossed away useless garbage or else stored what was absolutely necessary inside the ender chest. Pink and red potions with curved necks took up every slot at my belt and in my backpack. I was overflowing with healing brews, and I even found the space to cram more inside my ender chest or else dual-wield them in my free hands.

"Thank you!" I spoke hurriedly with potions spilling from my backpack. "Thank you!"

I bolted back out and took to the air, ignoring the startled gasps of the Crafters upon takeoff. The Bottes Zephyr carried me into the sky where lightning crackled dangerously close. I ignored the flashes that danced across my vision and wiped rain from my eyes as I hurtled back to Cobb at breakneck speed.

The day dragged on and the darkened, stormy skies grew darker still by the setting sun. I had to shield my eyes from the rain and wait for flashes of lightning just to make out the vast birch forest below. But I always kept Mt. Mur behind my left shoulder as I flew.

While I was flying along, something came at me from the darkness. Dark blue, leathery skin and wings. Bright green eyes. Its angry hiss was the only warning I got before I swerved out of its way. I was glancing back over my shoulder at it when a second one appeared, striking me in the side and knocking off one-and-a-half Hearts. I rolled with the impact, descending rapidly before righting myself with the Bottes Zephyr.

I scanned the skies, spotting the two mysterious entities gliding along. They spun through the air before dive-bombing me.

What in Notch's name are those things?

With my hands and belt full of potions, I didn't have the time or luxury to draw my shield or fight. Instead, I just tried to outfly them. I kept moving south, but they glided right alongside me. I could maneuver better, though. I darted to the side and the two hostile Mobs flew right past before attempting to turn towards me in a wide arc.

They must have been new Mobs from the Bounty Days. No idea what to call them, but they looked like flying manta rays. They didn't do much damage, but they were annoying. No matter how far I went, they just kept up with me. I had to constantly zigzag just to throw them off.

On one zigzag, they got smarter and one of them expected the maneuver. One caught my shoulder and I lost a Splash Potions of Healing. It fell like a bomb, and landed smack dab between the wings of the other Manta Ray. The red liquid splashed over it and it hissed in agony, its flight disrupted.

I watched it in confusion before taking another Splash Potion of Healing and lobbing it at the other Manta Ray. It also hissed, pained from the healing brew.

The Healing Potions hurt them. I realized. They must be undead Mobs!

Even though I had to save some for Cobb, I allowed myself two more Splash Potions of Healing II and lobbed them at the Manta Rays when they got close. They didn't have much health, and a second round of potions was just enough to finish them off. Along with EXP, they dropped some leathery white material that I missed on the first death, but caught on the second one.

[PHANTOM MEMBRANE]

So they're Phantoms, then? I thought, pocketing the item. Just another thing to worry about.

I wasted enough time fighting those Phantoms. I had to get back to Cobb.

After regaining my bearings and keeping an eye out for more Phantoms, I continued flying south through the pelting rain and howling wind.

There!

I spied the banner and descended with a backflip, landing none too ceremoniously before the makeshift shelter. My hands gripped the splash potions tight, ready to throw them, but then my muscles went numb and my heart plummeted.

There was a hole in the shelter.

"Cobb!" I called out uselessly, peering inside and finding the shelter and bed empty. Thunder boomed, ominously setting the background for this horrible turn.

I spun around, full of healing potions and with no one to use them on. Cobb was missing. Given he was in no condition to move, it was likely someone stole broke in and stole him. Was it Jade or Floyd? Had they been watching the shelter the whole time, just waiting for me to abandon Cobb? Did they already kill him, or was this something else entirely.

I didn't even know if the fisherman was still alive. In that moment, I didn't care that I just lost the most powerful artifact. I cared about Cobb.

"COBB!" I shouted, spinning around and scanning the forest for any signs of him. He didn't have a map. Finding him would be impossible, and yet whoever took him couldn't have gotten far. This could have just happened. "Cobb!" I shouted out again, running in the direction the hole in the shelter had been opened from.

Then, behind a tree, I saw something.

A pile of bones and arrows.

A Skeleton had just died here.

And... there! A little further down. Spider eyes and string.

Rotten flesh littered here and there. An ender pearl further to the left. Some freshly made craters in the dirt with chunks of trees blasted away. Creepers that had detonated. More drops left lying in the dirt.

All the signs of fallen Mobs. They left a trail of devastation through the forest. One I followed closely.

There's only one thing that all these Mobs would die on. I thought. And Cobb's wearing it!

[Cobb]

"Get away!" I cried, my voice drowned out by the rain as I weakly pushed past white-barked trees. Pain gnawed at my insides as it felt like they were twisting up into knots, and everywhere I fled, those cruel likenesses of my friends kept appearing. "Leave me alone!"

An arrow launched from the left. Lenz! It struck me in the shoulder, but I barely registered the pain. Compared with the throbbing in my stomach, it was nothing.

(A Skeleton exploded from the left, reduced to bones and arrows.)

My eyes flickered and caught sight of Floyd and his eyes with the black sclerae. Never had the eyes of my friend instilled me with such terror. Floyd rushed forward with blurring speed, appearing to almost warp before me. I shielded my eyes and my chestplate flashed. The blow struck, but, again, the pain was minimal. It was more terrifying than painful, fighting off my friends.

(An Enderman gave a dying wail before falling to the dirt as a single ender pearl.)

Jade and Erin and Wynn descended from the trees, hissing madly. I changed course right as they hit. I could feel something raking against my chestplate as I fled from the women at a hobbling, glacial pace.

(A trio of Spiders were reduced to string and spider eyes.)

The axe-wielder—Soul—brought both his arms up for a powerful downward swing that would surely topple me. Instead, when the axe came down, I barely felt a thing, and only barreled through him.

(A Zombie turned to rotten flesh against the Severe Shield.)

"Stop it!" I screamed, covering my eyes. I couldn't look at them anymore! "STOP! This isn't real! I can't fight you!"

In my blind, frenzied panic, I bumped into every tree and took a tumble down a sudden hill, rolling along until I came to an abrupt halt at the base of a large birch tree. I broke down and sobbed, my pleas drowned out by the thunder and wind.

"I can't fight them! I can't!"

Yes you can...

A dark, evil voice rang out clearly in the chaotic storm. I glanced up and my eyes widened at a red glowing object. It wound through the air, thin and flexible, like a snake or a crimson stream. It was a voice I was familiar with. I heard it in my head only when my bloodlust bubbled to the surface.

Take me. It spoke. Accept me.It urged. I'm the piece of you unafraid to lash out.

"No..." I mouthed, pressing my forehead into the wet grass. "You'll kill them..."

Better them than you.

"Th-They're my World..." I cried. "I-I'd sooner die than lose them..."

They're not your World. They never were. That's why they turned on each other. The voice sneered. That's why they turned on you.

"No..." I whispered, not believing it. "No..."

Survival is all that remains. Remember your instincts. It urged. You want to live, don't you? Than take me! Give into your rage. Lose yourself to my power and I'll end this chase. No longer will you have to suffer.

The promise was too good to pass up. I was so tired of running in terror. So tired of the pain in my mind and body. Every fiber of my being just wanted to surrender to the pain or else make it go away.

Quickly! The voice urged. Take me!

My phantom friends appeared in a flash of lightning. I was surrounded. No other way out.

I reached up a hand to the glowing red wisp that was Blood and watched as it wound around my arm protectively before sinking into my flesh. I could feel it's blistering hot power coursing through my veins. Blood literally pounded in my ears, urging me to stand up. Adrenaline took the place of fear as I drew my Sweeping Edge sword.

Floyd blurred forward and I glared at him as if in an angry, red haze.

Blood: Kill them all!

My diamond blade flashed out, bisecting Floyd right between his Hacker infused eyes. His face reflected blank shock before he exploded into shadowy wisps of nothing.

"NO MORE!" I cried out as Soul attacked next.

I sidestepped before reversing my grip and jamming the sword straight through his ribcage. He died in another shadowy explosion.

"ENOUGH!"

Lenz fired arrows. They struck my chestplate, but the adrenaline must have been numbing the pain. I didn't feel anything as I weakly pushed forward and knocked the bow out of the archer's hands. Then I slashed him through the side and he collapsed into a shadowy mess.

"YOU'RE NOT MY FRIENDS!"

Wynn and Jade tried to team up on me, rapier and cutlass flashing out towards me face and neck. I reared back an arm and swung with the Sweeping Edge enchantment, shearing through their flimsy attacks and decapitating them both.

Erin, seeing the cruelty with which I attacked, tried to turn and flee. I caught her by the hair and dragged her back before slitting her throat with my sword. She died choking on her own shadowy blood.

Then, finally, there was Noman.

"Cobb!" He called, running down the hill. "Thank goodness you're up! Quick, we need to get some food in you before—COBB!"

He leapt back as my sword nearly lobbed his head off. I teetered to the side, unbalanced and running on fumes, but my rage was keeping me going.

"Kill you..." I mumbled through the haze. "Not my friends..."

"Cobb, put down the sword!" The imitation of Noman tried again, raising his arms peacefully. "You're wearing the Severe Shield. Someone is going to get hurt unless you take it off—"

He dodged another lethargic swing. I huffed and puffed, my eyes glaring angrily at the phantom shield-bearer.

"It's all gone..." I muttered, lifting my blade. "My World... I don't have anything left..."

"That's not true!" Noman cried out, keeping his distance. "Cobb, I'm right here. I'm not gonna run away. Please! Put down the sword and take off the chestplate."

Blood: No, kill him! Do it now!

"I... I..." I felt nauseous, swaying on the spot, my sword just waiting to be brought down as Noman approached.

"It's me, Cobb." Noman assured, the red haze starting to clear. "Aikido, remember? All life is precious. I'm not gonna fight you." He tossed his shield aside. "You're my friend."

"Friend..."

The single word brought everything into focus. I was outside in the storm. Somewhere in the middle of the birch forest. Noman wasn't a phantom trying to kill me, he was real. He was standing there without a weapon, and I was wearing his Severe Shield. The one artifact he never dared to lend to anyone for fear of the damage it would cause.

He loaned it to me. To protect me.

My sword tumbled free from my shaky grip and stuck in the dirt before I collapsed to my knees, bawling my eyes out. I ripped the Severe Shield off my body, horrified with what I almost had done, and hurled it away.

The dark voice in the back of my mind urging me forward was tossed out too.

But, without the Severe Shield, the gnawing pain in my stomach redoubled. My exhaustion caught up with me around the same time as the memories of all that had happened.

It was all too much for my weak psyche.

Noman had the time to call out my name before I fell into sweet, insensate darkness.

Suspended in the darkness, a glowing light floated down towards my chest.

Though it was a weak light, it felt full of compassionate warmth. It was the comfort I desperately needed.

Liver...

It floated into my body, another missing piece to fill the hole.

[Noman]

"Cobb!" I cried out before the fisherman collapsed. Without the Severe Shield, he was taking damage again from the starvation.

I quickly ripped out some Healing and Regeneration potions and splashed him with them. His Hearts recovered to full, and, despite his obvious rejection of the artifact, I slipped the Severe Shield back over his body to protect him.

After that, I knelt beside him in the rain.

He was out again. His fever seemed gone, but maybe that was just because of the cooling rain soaking him through to his hoodie. My dark suit was just as soaked, sticking to my skin and making me feel miserable.

I held Cobb's shoulder, idly rubbing my thumb against him.

"You're gonna make it, Cobb." I whispered softly. "You're going to pull out of this." I nodded to myself.

"You have to."

Tears started to fall down my face and onto the fisherman, mixing with the rain.

"Because if you don't recover, I-I'm never going to know which of them is telling the truth or which of them is a cultist." I sniffed. "And th-then what's going to happen to the Beginners?"

The weight of my responsibility for this fisherman's life finally crushed me as I broke down, sobbing.

"I don't want to go back to fighting on my own." I confessed between sobs that racked me so hard my shoulders shook. "I-I don't want to watch you starve. I don't want to fear the others and leave the Beginners. I want all of you with me. I want you at my back. I..."

I leaned forward, shielding Cobb's face from the rain.

"I don't want to be alone again."

I stayed like that for a while, shielding Cobb from the rain. The Mobs seemed to ignore us, at least. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, but the storm may as well have been hundreds of miles away for how little I cared.

"S-So you gotta pull through." I wiped my eyes with a sleeve, finally whipping my head up. No more crying. I had to be strong. "You're going to pull through, Cobb." I said, more confidently. "You're going to."

I bundled the fisherman up in my arms, recovered my shield, and trekked back to our makeshift shelter. It wouldn't do his recovery well to leave him soaking in the rain.

Inventory (Cobb): 1 Book {Mission Update}, 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Mending I, Unbreaking I], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Boots, 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Sword [Sweeping Edge III], 64 Cobblestone, 61 Cobblestone, 1 Bed, 36 Dirt, 6 Coal, 18 Flint, 12 Jungle Wood Logs, 56 Jungle Wood Planks, 7 Torches, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 String, 60 Emeralds, 1 Ender Chest, 4 Snowballs, 9 Gunpowder, 3 Cooked Mutton, 7 Raw Porkchops, 22 Rotten Flesh, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}

[EXP: 28]

Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Boots, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 3 Iron Ingots, 47 Dirt, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 8 Cooked Mutton, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Emerald, 1 Iron Sword {Weak}, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Leggings, 16 Gunpowder, 3 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}

[EXP: 32]

Inventory (Lenz): 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 5 Redstone Torches, 1 Bed, 9 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 23 Redstone, 17 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 48 Cobblestone, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 1 Bow, 21 Arrows, 14 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 11 Cooked Mutton, 64 Emeralds, 1 Ender Chest, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}

[EXP: 15]

Inventory (Jade): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Cutlass, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 13 String, 5 Cooked Mutton, 14 Torches, 12 Jungle Wood Planks, 60 Cobblestone, 30 Emeralds, 15 Obsidian, 1 Water Bucket, 1 Bucket, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {3:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {3:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Slowness {4:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Slowness {4:00}, 1 Compass, 1 Clock, 2 Ender Chests, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Dover Plains Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Lazuli Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}

[EXP: 37]

Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Black Shield {Slight Shield} [Blue Cross] {Weak}, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Bow [Infinity], 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Phantom Membrane, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Splash Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 4 Cooked Porkchops, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Arrow, 5 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots

[EXP: 26]

AN: Pre-planning for the Darkest Arc...

Me: So how much suffering do you want your characters to go through?

Cruel Me: Yes.

Me: Um, that's not really a—

Cruel Me: YES.

Me: *Sigh* Alright.

Plenty of side things going on with the Bounty Days. Minecraftia is officially in 1.13, the Aquatic Update. Tridents, Phantoms, Concrete, and more!

Hope you enjoyed the dive into Cobb's tortured and broken psyche. My Craft. It's rated T! (^_^)

FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. PM. OC. FORUM. DISCORD. SERVER. POPTARTS.