Taken- A Dream SMP Fanfic

Chapter Nineteen- The Land of Ash

The stretches of netherrack and lava were vast and unforgiving, home to only the toughest species. Blazes infested the valleys. Ghasts haunted the plains. Hoglins ruled the forests. The only places where civilization thrived was in the bastions. 

Piglins were the only intelligent species in the Nether. They had their own language. Their own trade. Their own fortress. And their own government. 

"You know by now that the king doesn't take kindly to failure," the leather-clad piglin grunted. His companion snorted in agreement. "I don't envy Halro. The captains of the failed missions always get punished the worst."

The piglin they spoke of was pleading with their king at that moment. 

"Please, Your Greatness, give me one more chance to please you. If we could only-"

"You've tried enough. You have failed me too many times for forgiveness."

"I've failed... once..." Halro stammered. 

"SILENCE!" the king roared. "GUARDS!"

Two netherite-armored piglin brutes burst through the door. 

"Take him to the dungeons and send me the replacement," the king ordered. 

The guards obeyed instantly, indifferent to the captain's cries. 

The king himself was huge. Three times the height and weight of a piglin, he towered over his people. He held a netherite axe that shimmered purple every few seconds. Shining purple-tinted netherite clad his body except for the golden crown that rested on his head. 

The 'replacement' strutted into the room and cockily gave the king a slight dip of the head. "You called, Father?"

"Who made him the replacement captain?" the king asked his guard. 

"I'm not sure, Your Greatness," the guard replied. 

The king scowled. "It doesn't matter." He motioned toward his son. "Very well, then. You will lead the next assault on the ghast plains. Take our best archers with you. But keep in mind, being my son will not spare you the consequences of a failed mission."

The prince dipped his head. "As you wish, Father."

***

The maze of nether brick and magma twisted through endless corridors, all the same, nothing to tell them apart. Except for one. 

The iron doors leading into the room were locked tight. Guards were posted every ten paces down the hallway leading to it. Wither skeletons. Blazes. Piglin brutes. All enemies, but united to protect the one thing they'd been programmed to defend with their lives.

Even they didn't know what it was. All they could tell was that it was colorful. Vibrant beams of light shot out through the small gaps around the door. It seemed... out of place, but who were they to argue? Ever since the piglin king had appeared and taken over the realm, they had felt a sense of urgency toward whatever was in this room. But they dared not go inside.

Only one had attempted before. A wither skeleton. He had taken three steps into the bright room and been blown out by some mysterious force. He only had time to mumble something about 'so many lights' before he collapsed. They had then barred the door and forbidden even their own kind to enter. No one knew what would happen if the force inside that room were unleashed on the world. Or what would happen if it was destroyed.

But could it be? Maybe. No one had tried. No one could enter. The light was a mystery. A curse.

A glitch.