Solstice

Chapter 3 - Collapse

After saying goodbye to Prophetbot, I make my way east to where the head engineer supposedly lives. As I walk, I can't help but notice how quiet it is, and how many deactivated robots there are. The dark, empty, SUV things near the place I woke up in makes it seem like people used to live here somehow, making me question if this place was even called the Barrens before.

 The soft crunch of gravel filling my ears is interrupted as I find myself at the very edge of a cliff, sediments falling off of the edge where I stopped, falling into a dark void as I quickly back away, only to have another near-death experience as I find a cliff right behind me as well, causing me to nearly drop the light bulb. Always nice to have 3 near death experiences in a row! (It really isn't).

I walk very carefully along the thinner strips of land in the form of a small, non-complicated labyrinth that I can see all the paths to, unless my view is blocked by odd, castle-like pillars sitting at an uneven angle, as if they might fall and destroy the way. I spot a piece of paper on the edge of a cliff and manage to catch it before it could fall off. It has a black clover at the bottom right, just like the odd book I had when I woke up. As I read it, I realize why this note was at the edge of a cliff. I decide to hold onto the note and get back on my main route, feeling slightly disturbed. 

At last, after a few minutes of walking, I spot a house in the distance. As I walk to the doorstep, I notice a lot of black clovers are somehow thriving in the rocky area in front of the house. I admire that, before entering the house.

On the right side of the house is a metal, grey table with two metal stools and a note on top, and next to the table is an odd electrical box with a label written in sharpie with the word 'Silver' on it. At the back are bookshelves filled with either books or mechanical equipment. To the left is a chess board with chairs. The house is illuminated softly by the lightbulb in my arms, but other than that, the home is lit by lightly-glowing blue firefly creatures. And in the middle, looking at me, is a tall, red-haired and red-eyed robot lady seemingly wearing silver armor with glowing light-blue stripes. 

"The lightbulb... It's... you." She says. "You are the messiah, correct?"

"That's what I've been told!" I say, still getting used to the messiah name.

"I expected someone... taller. Or at least someone who doesn't look like a kitten. That's what you are, right? Some sort of cat?"

I know I should probably be offended to some level, but the height comparison, my large eyes, whisker-like side hair, and pointed ears covered by my hat, I just know I won't have any favors in an argument.

 "Nuh uh!" I say, my voice sounding unintentionally kitten-like. "I'm a person! And cats walk on four legs!"

"Hm. Whatever you say, kiddo. Either way, A child like you being the messiah just... doesn't feel right."

"But the robot back there said there's no mistake!"

"I know." The robot says, before sighing. "This is going to sound cold, but I think you're better off just letting the world die off naturally. The world has been dying for a long time, and at this manner of decay, it is highly unlikely the sun will be able to do anything. You have already seen how bad it can get, right?"

"We haven't seen much of anything, actually... and we can't really just leave."

"Oh, so you just got here? Then you must be headed towards the Tower."

"Mhm! That's where I'm supposed to put the lightbu... I mean- sun, right?"

"Yes. We know that the Tower could contain a force nobody could comprehend, and the power is strongest at the summit. Maybe it will send you back home after you complete your mission. Don't take my word for it though. The name's Silver, by the way."

I walk out of the house and go towards a barricaded mine entrance next to it. Before I can read the sign, Silver runs up to me.

"Wait!" She says before stopping. "I saw you heading towards this direction. The mines have been abandoned for a long time, and there is no guarantee that it is safe. If you must go inside, it is my duty to accompany you at least one time." 

"Oh! Thanks!" I say.

She then unlocks the mines, setting the barricades to the side. I walk into the mines, the air a tiny bit different from the surface. Silver holds the sun for me to ensure it stays safe as I look around. What catches my eye, however, is a railway leading to another area, but it doesn't have a minecart and the railway is above another void, making me  appreciate how many bottomless voids there are here.

 Right when I take a step towards the railroads, my mind is struck with a sudden shock like lightning as I see the darkened silhouette of the Prophetbot I saw earlier, but with white and blue robes instead of white and red ones. The figure turns around and reveals a large, yellow eye, the same color as the sun. I shut my eyes and put my hands to my head from the pain, falling backwards onto a singular black clover, before the pain dies down slightly. I slowly open my eyes to see Silver with a shocked expression.

"Messiah! Are you alright?!" She says in a panicked tone.

"Hnng... y... yeah..." I say as she helps me get up. "I just saw... someone."

"Sounds like a vision." Silver says as she checks for any injuries "Who was it?"

"I saw... Prophetbot, but he had a white and blue robe, a blue staff, and a large, yellow eye that seemed more serious, standing at the place over there." I say as the pain completely goes away.

"That sounds like... him... but... that can't be possible." Silver says, seemingly deep in thought.

"Who?"

"He was a friend, and a prototype of the Prophetbot. He was one of the three children, and he always insisted on staying in the deep mines. Nobody knows why he did, because whenever we asked, he would only tell us 'Soon it will be time'. When the mines collapsed with him inside, nobody thought he survived. It's been three years, and surely he must've been deactivated with the loss of the Barren's main power generator, but if you, the messiah of all people, saw him, then..."

Before I could ask anything, like who the three children were or how the mines collapsed, I notice something glowing yellow in my pocket, shaped like a clover. I rummage around and notice it's the book. I take it out and open it to find a drawing of the room with a minecart on this side of the mines. I look up and see a minecart in the exact spot as in the drawing. I look back at the book, but the drawing is gone, along with the yellow glow of the book.

"What... was that?"

"I- I don't know... I just opened this book, and it just... happened!"

"Huh... well this seems like it could take us to the deeper mines. Not sure why you would want to go there, but... the option's there, I suppose."

I nod and hop into the minecart. Silver steps onto the rails behind me, her shoes seemingly magnetized to the metal, and pushes the Minecraft along into the deeper mines.

(Longest chapter by far! Let's see this is about... flips through notes... 1334 words long! I don't expect this story to get very far, due to how small the fandom is, but I love this game and just had to make something about it, which was an amazing decision because this is really fun :3)