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Chapter Eight

I took a breath and stepped onto the stones. The wavering form of the portal washed over me, much like a dry waterfall might. Everything simmered for a moment, and then I was out into the bright light with a whoosh.

The rush of wind swept past my ears. With wide eyes, I rightened myself and grabbed a firework. It propelled me up and I dialed back the power so that I was floating right next to the portal. After a few seconds of thought, I quickly grabbed some wooden boxes and placed a few in front of the portal so that the ones using it next would not plummet to the ground after we had worked so hard to get up here.

With that done, I turned to face the Error sign. Now I knew what King had meant. The size of it was massive, filling up my entire vision and more. Just the r alone could rival the tallest mountain known to stick men. As I watched it, it swelled, like it strained to reach me, before sinking back in defeat.

I watched it, mesmerized, when I felt something touch my shoulder.

"Well, we're all here, Violate," The Lord said. I nodded. Now for the long part.

"I am actually surprised that it worked," Chosen said, studying the portal. "It does not look like what it is."

"Minecraft. Ever played it before?" King asked.

He shook his head. "It seems like a magical place, though."

"It's not really," I said. "Sure, there are potions and, yes, magical weapons, but it is mostly about mining for materials and going into the Ender world to kill a dragon."

Ah, bittersweet words.

"There is more to it than that," King said, fixing his crown. "Lots of YouTubers make a bunch of random videos with it. You can basically do whatever with it."

"Okay, sure," I conceded, "but those are fun little things you can do with your friends."

"Still Minecraft."

"Whatever," I muttered.

"Are you sure that we can make the trip?" The Lord asked, glancing at each of us.

"Of course!" King said, glaring at him. "You got us to sleep yesterday night and now we only have twelve hours to fly up there until we can escape."

"We'll have to," I answered, stepping in front of him. "I am not staying another night here if I can help it." Chosen jerked his head in agreement.

The Lord sighed. "Well, all right. I just want everything to go well."

The dark stick figure bristled. "Are you suggesting that we can't pull this off?"

"No, but—"

"All right then." Chosen stared at the falling dots. "What are these?"

"Don't touch them!" I said, grabbing his outstretched hand. "They burn you."

"In case you haven't noticed, fire does not seem to affect me," he said, reaching out anyway. A cheerful blue circle landed on his palm. Immediately he seethed and drew his arm back. "Never mind," he grumbled.

Mango Tango stared at the Error with narrow eyes. "So, not only does it taunt us, it tries to burn us too."

The Lord flamed up his hands and flew around, avoiding the dangerous popcorn. "Thing's huge," he commented.

"It's not like a normal font," I agreed, flying  around.

"What do you mean?"

"The day of the maze, I was watching it,"  I explained. "Just before the challenge appeared, it glitched."