Withering World [MCSM Fanfiction]

HABITATION: Chapter 33

Petra

Our footsteps carve the mountains and valleys on a microscopic scale. Lukas and I are greeted with the regular dead bush that comes in common intervals.

I'm not fond of how cold it is down here. All the warmth seemed to have migrated up and out into the Overworld, meaning Romeo probably wanted to leave this world refrigerating when creating the one above. If I can recall, it feels exactly the same as when we were heading straight for the icy clock challenge. In the distance is the occasional rumble of a lightning strike that comes straight from the bedrock on top of us.

We're in an enormous chamber of nightmares.

However, so far we haven't encountered anything as I did with Jesse yet. No crazy magma golem challenges, no ninja Ivor, not even a single mob-

"What the nether was that?"

Me and Lukas are in sync, halting in an instant. The ground thrums mildly beneath us as we hear another bellowing growl, making the two of us flinch. Its vibrations rake against our flesh and graze against our bones.

"I have no idea," I say, drawing my sword.

Silence is a timer, counting down the seconds until pure devastation arises - I can sense it.

Lukas speaks in a whisper, gently removing the bow over his shoulder. "Should we just keep going?"

"Not a good idea if you can't see the threat, but the threat can see you."

When he tries to move, I pull him back, gluing him for another minute. He scuffs his shoe into the sand, liberating puffs of dust out of his boredom. "Dang, I need your patience-"

"You need my instinct."

My jabs of movement are undesirably static, whilst Lukas is sort of catching on. For now, he's like a baby fox, still trying to comprehend the meaning of stealth.

Two sturdy legs the size of tree trunks appear, materializing only a few feet away from us. Specks of purple disperse around them. The earth trembles. I immediately tackle the blond to the ground. "Get down!"

"What the-"

"Look up..." I say, "but don't look at its eyes."

From his low crouching position, he tilts his head ever so gradually for a glimpse of the danger right beside us. "Oh, you weren't joking about the enderman." He turns back to me.

"The heck, of course I wasn't joking!" My whisper is harsh and I feel a low growl fester in my throat, but I kill it before it's too late. "I guess Xara drew it away from the Oasis."

"Sorry if I missed anything, but who's this Xara again?"

Man! All his questions are being asked at the most inappropriate times. I cringe, finding the answer through this serious mess, anyway. "She's an ex-admin who fixed the portal in the underneath so we could get back to the Overworld."

Before he gets the chance to voice his response, the giant walks our way, its leg crushing us to death had we not rolled out of its path sooner.

"Don't look at it in the eyes, don't get squished, and we'll be good," Lukas mutters to himself, frankly dazed. It makes me believe that out of all the crazy he's ever seen in his life, this is the craziest.

As we zigzag between the feet of the creature, we come close to near execution with each step it takes. The dust multiplies like the spawning mobs around us and our breaths become staggered and choppy. Lukas is holding up better than I thought despite his oddly functioning leg - it won't allow him to run any faster.

"Watch out!" His eagle eyes turn on. "Lava!"

Neon pools of orange are suddenly everywhere around us, tranquil yet morbid - one wrong step and it's over.

There's a clay mound I lean against, bettering my balance when I sidestep past the lava lakes. We shuffle around the mound correspondent to the opposite side of the enderman, our knees suffering.

"Do you think that thing's- killable?"

I revert my gaze to the back of the enderman's head. "Dunno, looks untouchable to me. Let's just- get out of here whilst it's still preoccupied."

"I wonder how many enderpearls it would drop," Lukas says as we bolt down the warm-colored plains, the mighty foundation of dry clay now softening into sand again. It sabotages our speed.

The world surges as my stamina fades.

Before I get the chance to feel even just a sliver of safety, my heart skips a beat when I see the tampered sand descending beneath Lukas's boots.

"Lukas, no!"

My determined urgency flings me forward and I reach for his wrist, holding him back from a mild drop. Over half of his mass is suspended over a pit of lava, hidden from the surface by the coat of sand.

As cold as it is, the heat of the lava balances everything out. Seeing it under him is enough to make him shout.

Behind my shield of protectiveness, I notice my arms trembling. "I've got you, I've got you."

Whimpers seethe through my lips and in our favor comes the friction in our pivot, finally getting me to drag him out of there. He cracks up into exasperated gasps while taking a few cautious steps away from the death pit. "My gosh, I'm so sorry."

Meeting death just like that, Lukas? Surely you can do better than falling into lava.

The normal-sized mobs have the skill that of training dummies now that we've been through harder tribulations with the infectious wither skeletons up above. I so desperately want to pause and rest up, but the invasive thoughts of Jesse taking her final breath are the reins that force me trotting onward.

They've grown so vivid, I don't even notice that we're heading towards a labyrinth of rose and mocha cliffs with terribly steep ledges until Lukas exhales in visceral amazement. Our movements unite, this particular sight being the first for both of us.

"Woah."

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