Age Of Awakening: Unofficial Minecraft Adventures Series 3 In 1 (5 page)

But Scoundrel’s attention was suddenly stripped away from Steve as he ran to the front door and began barking furiously as if there is something or someone out there.

Steve cautiously went to his front door and opened it, half expecting an attack, but what he saw outside made him feel as though he were still dreaming.

The world had become a barren wasteland. The trees, the grass, animals and his garden were all gone. Nothing remained whatsoever as far as they eyes could see. Even the seeds in Steve’s inventory were gone. There was nothing left.

“This is impossible…nothing that exists could have done this.” The hero said to himself. But even as he stared at the barren wasteland that he had once called home he knew exactly what had happened. His dreams, they were not just nightmares; they were precursors, images of a future that loomed over him.

“Herobrine.” Somehow the white eyed demon from his nightmares was still alive. Somehow he had survived their last encounter and now had enlisted the help of a very powerful dragon.

Steve knew what he had to do but that didn’t make the task any less frightening. He needed to hunt down this dragon of Herobrine’s and slay it before it ended him and the rest of the people on Overworld.

This was his purpose as the world’s adventurer, this was his calling and he would not hide away from it.

Steve would save Overworld and destroy Herobrine once and for all!

The village was abandoned. Stephanie, Carl and everyone else who lived there was simply gone. Whatever magic the dragon had used was very powerful. The only things still alive were him and Scoundrel, the only two creatures inside his house at the time. It was much worse than Steve thought.

“Come on boy, we need to find out how to find this dragon before we starve.”

No food, no seeds, not so much as an apple to keep him going, Steve knew the time he had was very limited.

Scoundrel followed the adventurer as they left the ghost town. Steve couldn’t help but wonder if his friends were simply missing or if they were dead. He shook his head, not letting himself dwell on the situation like that.

They headed as fast as they could to the grand city in the mountains. The journey was long and dangerous taking them several days and nights but they finally reached the city.

Nestled up high in the peaks of three mountains was a city where a great number of Overworld’s people lived. Home to some of the oldest and wisest men and women Steve knew about. But the eerie silence of the city washed over Steve as they entered through the main gates.

Not one single person could be found on any of the cobblestone streets, in any of the shops or any of the markets. Every stall every building and every alleyway was completely devoid of life.

Scoundrel whimpered sadly and stayed very close to Steve as the two of them wandered through the streets.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” Steve shouted into the empty city but his voice only echoed off the empty stones. He knew that he was the only one left. “Come on boy, let’s go find the library, we need to get out of here soon.”

The city’s library was the biggest one known to Overworld, if there was any information on this dragon then it would be here. Steve felt himself growing more and more hungry. The journey had taken a lot of energy and there was not one single thing he could take to satisfy the hunger in his gut.

Minutes turned to hours, hours into days until finally Steve found something that looked promising. In a small section of the library, unmarked and tucked away in a dark corner he found a large collection of scrolls. One of these scrolls told about a dragon called the Ender Dragon, and the dark realm in which it was imprisoned.

Now knowing where to look Steve and Scoundrel found many more scrolls on the dragon and pieced together the tasks involved in finding it and taking it out.

“This is it,” Steve said as he looked to Scoundrel. The wolf lay next to him and looked up with a smile. “We can do it; we can find the End and kill the dragon.” Steve’s stomach growled powerfully and his hand went to it in a hurry. “Assuming we don’t starve first. We have to hurry, come on.”

Willpower alone was getting Steve through the horrific and lengthy journey. The pieces he needed to find the Dragon were not easy to gather. His journey sent him to a hellish place called the Nether where he had to hunt down Blaze creatures and kill them for their blaze rods. This process added another four days to the journey, forcing Steve and his wolf to trudge along on brute willpower by itself.

Having gathered all the blaze rods he needed Steve continued on his way towards the hidden fortress where he would find the portal to The End. He had one Eye of Ender and continued to follow it through the air to his final destination. Along the way the adventurer found Endermen, stalking them and picking them off one at a time. He was too weak to fight more than one at a time. Scoundrel did a good job of distracting them while Steve jumped them from behind and cut them down.

It had been over a month since his dream, since his friends and every natural resource had vanished but finally Steve found the hidden underground fortress where the End portal would be. After a few hours of searching, Steve found the chamber where the End portal was hidden. The room glowed with a great amount of light and heat due to the lava underneath the broken portal.

Scoundrel walked down the steps into the chamber first and lay down in the corner, unable to really move much because he was so hungry and exhausted. Steve however was feeling awake, adrenaline fueling his body as he realized how close he was to now destroying the dragon and setting things right once again.

“I’m coming for you Herobrine, just wait a little longer and I’m going to find you and end this once and for all.” Steve said to himself as he inspected the portal.

Several blocks were placed at the top of the steps leading up to the portal and Steve realized they must be Silverfish blocks. With no energy to fight the annoying creatures Steve simply built a path around them on the side of the stairs. The heat from the lava was intense as he stood on the top of the portal and inspected it. Several Eyes of Ender were missing, but he had enough to fix the portal and end this terrible journey once and for all.

Searching his inventory Steve got out the Eyes he needed and fixed each of them into the empty blocks around the portal. Scoundrel’s head lifted up curiously as Steve slid the last eye into place and the portal to The End activated.

The light in the room fades, the heat seems to vanish replaces by a horrible chill. The dark portal sucks in everything leaving a horrifying feeling of emptiness in the room which causes Steve to shiver and Scoundrel to howl mournfully.

Steve turned to face his new best friend and waved. “I will be back before you know it. And when I do we’re going to have the biggest meal either of us could ever dream of.” With that Steve took one step backwards and fell into the abyss.

Scoundrel watched his friend disappear and let out another horrible howl of sadness.

The End was a horrible, depressing and nightmarish place. Darkness pervaded everything and the absence of light or heat made Steve shiver even if he didn’t feel cold. In fact he felt nothing at all. This place was indeed hell, it was a prison meant for the worst kinds of creatures.

A booming laugh like thunder rolling through clouds filled the air as Steve hurried towards the first massive black pillar before him.

“So! The little Adventurer has made it to my throne room!” The thunderous laugh rolls again as Steve begins to climb the first pillar. “Welcome Steve, I have been expecting you for some time. I thought for sure the journey alone would kill you. But it would seem I get to enjoy that pleasure myself!”

Steve looked around the black void of a sky, searching for the dragon as he climbed the pillar, placing pieces of ladder as he went.

“Your Mine!” The dragon growled as it appeared from the darkness and swooped down towards Steve.

The hero slid down the ladder just in time, just enough to miss the dragon’s attack. It destroyed some of his ladder but Steve focused, forcing his numbing fear away, knowing he didn’t have much time left to live even if the dragon didn’t kill him. He scurried to the top of the first pillar, making it to the very top as the dragon came around for another attack.

According to the scrolls, Steve knew he had to destroy the Ender Crystals atop each obsidian pillar or the dragon could never die.

“You cannot win Steve! You will die here!” The dragon flew just overhead as Steve fell onto his stomach atop the pillar. The dragon destroyed the Ender Crystal as it flew past, scraping it with his scaly belly. As the dragon destroyed the Ender Crystal he let out another scream, this time in pain. Steve only smiled as the dragon flew away from his new perch.

“Never underestimate me Dragon! That is precisely what got Herobrine killed last time! The one who set you free? He is worthless in every way, weak and thinks himself my superior…he is wrong. I will kill you, then hunt him down and end this once and for all!”

Steve felt the new confidence bolster his resolve as he drew his bow, enchanted with great power, it was stronger than any other weapon he had in his inventory. He knocked an arrow to the string and drew it back, aiming for merely a second before letting the arrow fly.

The enchanted bolt found its mark in the nearest crystal and it shattered. The Ender Dragon let out a painful wale as the crystal shattered.

“You insolent fool! I am older than time! I am the very darkness you fear, the father of death and creator of destruction itself! How dare you even attempt to stand against me!”

Steve didn’t waste any more time bothering with the dragon. He knocked another arrow to his bow and took aim at another crystal, letting the bolt fly and smash its target into oblivion.

Each time Steve destroyed a crystal the dragon let out more and more painful cries. Several times the dragon came close to knocking Steve off of his pillar. The battle was going on far longer than Steve had anticipated and his energy was beginning to wane.

Finally Steve fired off his arrow at the last target. It missed and the Dragon was coming right for him! Steve dropped his bow off the pillar and jumped, grabbing hold of his ladder and sliding down quickly to the ground just as the Ender Dragon destroyed the top of the pillar he had been standing on.

“Insolent worm! There is no ending to this where you live to tell the tale! Come and meet your maker!” The dragon was very angry and frightened that this little adventurer might actually cause him harm.

Steve was so weak he could barely lift his bow back off the ground but he knew he had to continue. He grabbed his bow and ran; trying to make it to the last crystal before the dragon could get to him. The monster was weak but even still he could easily end Steve with a single blow. The last crystal sat atop a short Pillar, only a few blocks high. Steve only had one arrow left in his inventory, one last Crystal and the dragon to slay. There was only one shot at this.

Steve positioned himself on the far side of the Pillar and knocked the arrow to his bow. The crystal sat between him and the Dragon as it flew towards him.

“Come to me dragon! Come and meet your doom!” Steve shouted out at the top of his lungs.

The dragon let out a horrific roar as it swooped down to devour the would be hero.

Steve let out a war cry as the dragon drew closer and closer.

With one last arrow he fired at the crystal. The bolt flew from his bow and it was as if the world was moving in slow motion.

The Ender Dragon, with mouth gaping in a roar, swooped low towards Steve. The bolt smashed through the Ender Crystal and continued to fly towards the dragon. Steve jumped out of the way, bow flying into the darkness. The arrow and shards of the crystal lodged themselves directly into the eye of the dragon.

With a deafening scream of pain the dragon crashed into the ground sending blocks flying as he ground to a halt, writhing in pain. With all the crystals destroyed he was weak, vulnerable and the arrow in his eye caused him great pain.

Weak, near death and ready to end this Steve struggled to his feet. Taking his sword from his inventory he hurried to the dragon as it clawed at its own eye trying to get the arrow out.

“How dare you!” The dragon’s voice was now weak and it no longer carried the power it once had. “You will pay for this you ant!”

Steve had had enough. “I told you dragon, I am going to kill you, then finish off Herobrine once and for all!”

Steve hefted his sword and brought it down onto the dragon’s neck. The blade sliced through with one swift stroke and the beast’s screams were cut short as its body lay still in death.

Steve’s sword fell from his hands, exhaustion took him and the world around him faded to blackness.