Transcendance: Enderman X Reader

6. into the fire

Swirls of purple dance before you, trapped within a frame of obsidian blocks. Five days have passed and now you stand before your portal, diamond sword in hand, ready to go deeper. A hand reaches out and squeezes yours and you look over to see Ender giving you a reassuring look.

"Well, here we are," you say, then take a deep breath to calm your nerves. You check your inventory one more time to make sure you have enough gold and fire resistance potions to get you where you need to go. Ender gives a thumbs up after checking your supplies with you. You look back up at the portal and remind yourself why you're doing this. "I'm ready,"

Ender keeps his hand in yours as you step into the portal together. You close your eyes as your head spins. No matter how many times you go through the portal it feels strange. Then, a moment later the feeling dissipates. A new feeling overwhelms your senses, heat. Next you notice the abundance of nether rock and zombie piglen. You could have landed in worse biomes so you consider it a win.

"We made it, now let's find a warped forest!" You place a soul torch down a few feet from the portal. You brought a whole stack of them to create a bread crumb trail so you don't get lost. You glance around, trying to determine where to go next. Suddenly, ender points in a specific direction. Forward and up seems to he the way according to him.

You let ender guide you, but insist on staying by his side to guard him so he can focus solely on finding the warped forest. You place a few more torches periodically. few piglens give you funny looks as you pass by them. They mumble amongst themselves in a language you wish you understood. You give them a friendly smile and offer them a few ingots of gold. You get another fire resistance potion, some crying obsidian, and gravel.

You thank them all then continue on your way. As you come across patches of lava you place the gravel over them to make for a safer passage. Eventually you reach a division of biomes. The soul sand valley is dark and foreboding. "Please tell me we're not going through that," you whisper. The sand slows you down and the darkness allows plenty of unfriendly types to live.

Ender shakes his head then points up the side of a large rock formation. Above it there is a long stretch of earth across a pool a lava. You nod and begin the climb, but not before placing another torch down. You scale the netherrack while ender teleports a few times to the top. You try to not look too jealous. When you reach the top ender holds a hand out and gives you the tug you need to get over the ledge.

You pull out a water bottle and drink the whole thing in one breath. "Are we close?" You ask and Ender nods, pointing across the earthen bridge. From up high you can better see the faint blue glow across the bridge. New hope and determination fills you and you jump up. You walk together in the center of the bridge, a fall from here would get fatal. The sight of the lava below is unnerving enough that you drink a fire resistance potion, just in case.

You both make it across unscathed and enter the warped forest. The biome is much calmer, with no hostile mobs to worry about. There is also an abundance of enderman. Ender fits right in among them all, you however, stick out like a sore thumb. Thankfully the enderman pay you no mind, and when they do it's a polite greeting in passing. Ender speaks with some of them and seems to gain directions to the plant you need. He continues to speak with a few of the enderman for awhile. One of the others says something, glancing at you for a moment. Ender responds then wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you closer. He wears a new expression, you're not sure you've seen it before, but it looks like jealousy.

You instinctively wrap an arm around him as well, and look up at him, confused but not unhappy with the situation. He gives a reassuring look, one you recognize well by now. Then he speaks a while longer before the group disperses. His hand leaves your waist so it's easier to walk, but he still reaches out to hold your hand. A moment later Ender rushes forward, almost pulling you over in the process. You're about to question his actions when you see him pointing to a very specific plant.

You jump into the air with a cheer, then hug him tightly. He returns the hug and you can't contain a joyful laugh when he lifts you up and spins in a circle. Ender sets you down so you can retrieve the herb, and you swiftly place it in a safe travel bag. By your estimate you have enough to make a dozen or so potions. "Does this look like enough to you?" You ask.

Ender nods and holds up a small bag of his own, cracking a smile as he shakes it a bit. You walk back to stand in front of him then rise to your tip toes to give him a quick kiss. Ender returns the kiss but seems to understand that now is not the time to linger for affection. The sooner you leave the nether, the better. You turn back in the direction you came, following your trail of torches with relative ease. The other enderman are either friendly or preoccupied as you walk back through the warped forest. You exit the forest and begin to travel across the bridge over the lava. The heat rises up from below and makes your armor feel heavier than ever, but you're strong, you can power through.

All things considered, the trip has gone smoothly. You don't let your guard down of course, but you do feel a bit proud of how well things are going. You're half way across the bridge now, and imagining what sort of conversations you'll have with ender later when he screeches. You jump to full attention as the ground under you shakes. You glance to ender, and then forward at what has scared him. A giant magma cube has landed on the opposite end of the bridge. If you attacked it you're not sure you could count how many more would be created.

"Let's turn back and wait until it's safe!" You shout over the sound of boiling lava. Ender grabs your hand, almost painfully tight and turns around. But you can not see the warped forest like you should. Instead, a ghast has floated down, blocking your only other exit. Ender's hand shakes as he becomes increasingly agitated. There's no escaping this. The only way out for you now is a fight that you're not likely to win.

"Teleport away, I'll make a distraction!" You tell Ender as the Ghasts closed eyes begin to open. You feel a terrible dread fill your chest as there's another thump behind you, the magma cube is closing in. Ender shakes his head at you, not wanting to abandon you. "I'd rather one of us live, let me do this!"

But ender refuses to move despite how terrified he looks. He raises his hands, claws growing to impressive lengths. He points toward the magma cube then himself. You know exactly what he means. You nod as he steps around you, his back presses against yours as you raise your shield. You take a deep breath and know that if you do go, you will not go silently.

A/n: I ended up writing more than I initially intended so there will be one more chapter after this! Sorry for the cliffhanger!