The Survivors [Volume 2]

Prologue

                                                         ~Three Years After the Start of Volume 1~

          Rainer soared the sky, his Rainium elytra wings occasionally shifting along his back, casting a glowing aura around him in the darkening sky. He hadn't had time to go to the citadel to get his armor, so he'd have to make do without it. If all went well, this wouldn't be anything more than a quick recovery mission; he hadn't even had the time to tell the others he was leaving. He had sort of just dipped out of History class, ran out of the building, put on the chest piece which shot open, and taken to the skies. The only thing that really worried him was the power dampener still latched to his back. He shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. He didn't need his powers for something this simple. 

          After about twenty minutes of flying, he spotted what he had been hoping for. He was now deep in the mega taiga biome, the massive spruce trees ranging from thirty, all the way to a hundred blocks tall. And nestled between the massive trees and mossy boulders, was a Nether Portal. Seeing as the thieves had been Nether Kin, and had headed in this direction, it was safe to assume this is where they had gone. Rainer drew out one of the several metallic blue rods from his inventory and spun it around. It's nanotech like functions enacted, the rod becoming a hilt as the head of a battle axe formed on its end, before igniting in glimmering blue energy. The wings along his back folded inwards, and he dropped into a steep dive, aiming right for the swirling, purple portal below.




          The Wither Skeleton nearly collapsed to the hard, hot ground as he came through the portal, stumbling forwards, tightly grasping the heavy, golden rod in his boney hands. He hadn't known he'd have to run so far to get away from those stupid Crafters. But he could care less, now that he was back in the beautiful, scorching, smoke filled atmosphere he called home. 

          "So, you actually pulled it off." The Wither Skeleton lifted his gaze, looking from his prize to the other Wither Skeletons approaching. The one speaking wore a chest plate and helmet made of Netherite, and Netherite Katana was in his grasp. His voice was raspy and rattled ever so slightly. "Color me impressed. Although, what happened to the rest of your group?" He added, slightly leaning to the side, looking to the Nether Portal as it softly hummed.

          "They were all picked off by guards. The last few stayed back to ensure the weapons delivery." He replied, gesturing forward with the golden rode. The armor-clad Wither Skeleton nodded, his red pupils moving to look to the golden rod in question. 

           "Very good. Their sacrifice was indeed necessary." Was his reply, turning around as the other blackened skeletons did as well, and they began to walk down the Nether Fortress's bridgeway, towards the bulk of the deep red structure. "Come, we'll escort you to the arena. Lord Na-" The black boned creature never got to finish, as Rainer swooped out of the portal, retaining the full momentum from his dive. His glowing, blade like wings snapped open as he leveled out, the glowing metal slicing through all the withered monsters, who fell to the ground in puffs of blackened smoke. A few Netherite items scattered about, as well as a few charred bones, and a singular wither skull. As the items clattered to the ground, his wings flared upwards as he landed on his feet, skidding to a stop, driving the battle axe into the ground to slow himself. The head of the axe left a deep, glowing slice through the blood red bricks, and the moment he came to a full stop, he turned around and sprinted for the fallen items. There was only one thing he cared about, which was easy to see amongst the otherwise dark colored tings that littered the ground. He snatched up the metallic golden rod, and rushed towards the portal, his wings snapping back as they boosted him towards the shimmering, purple surface of the portal. 

          Moments before he could vanish through the swirling gateway, the obsidian structure seemed to engulf in flames, shattering the portal's connection. Rainer's wings snapped open fully, and dug into the ground behind him, bringing him to a near instant stop, causing his head and limbs to jerk forward. As he regained his bearings, rolling his now slightly sore shoulders, a large, four block tall Wither Skeleton stepped through the now broken portal, it being no more than a normal doorway now. The monster before him arms were engulfed in soul fire, the blue flames licking up his charred arms, yet seemingly not creating any more ash from his already blackened form.

          "It was foretold you would arrive to retrieve the blade." The creature spoke, his voice deep and rattling, smoke wafting from his boney jaw whenever it opened as if he were burning on the inside. "We were also told to spare no expense in bringing you to him." As he spoke, the sound of creaking caught Rainer's attention, and as he turned around, he saw that there were now several dozens of Withered Skeletons, as well as Piglins, brandishing their golden weaponry and notching their crossbows. Turning back to the fiery skeleton, he saw that several Mutant Wither Skeletons had joined him, standing at nearly six blocks tall, covered in dark, singed padding they used as armor, and wielding hulking great swords and battle axes forged from Netherite. His gaze was again adverted at the sound of loud wheezing, as blazes floated up either side of the brick-made bridge, the fiery creatures engulfed in yellow, orange, and red flames. 

          "Warmer welcome party then I get back home." Rainer said, pulling out an arm cuff, and sliding it onto his left arm. Despite his witty remark, his eyes did darken a bit; he was feeling a whole lot less sure of himself now. There were a lot of mobs here, including the one he had never seen... he may not even be a monster. He tapped the metallic blue band with the back of his right hand, and it activated, just like his battle axe had. It formed a shield along his arm, energy sparking off its surface. "What I'm hearing is, you don't wanna kill me."

         "No, we do not." He responded, stepping out from the obsidian ring, now on level footing with Rainer. That would have been reassuring to him, if he hadn't continued on by adding, "We just have to break you until you submit." Rainer's gaze darkened more, as he lowered himself into a heavily defensive stance, raising the shield up to be blocking the direction of burning skeleton, while directing his axe in the opposite direction. All the mobs around him all seemed too ready themselves as well. Quickly glancing around, he could see around thirty-two Wither Skeletons, sixteen Piglins, twelve Blazes, and two Mutant Wither Skeltons. It didn't matter, they were just monsters. He had trained for years for combat against them... he didn't need his powers.

          "We've all heard the stories about you, Rainer." The Soul Fire Skeleton went on. The flames along his arms shifted, forming what appeared to be two great swords, comprised entirely of the scorching blue fire. A crooked smile seemed to cross his face, tilting his head a bit to the side, as flamed began to flicker out from his dead, hollow eye sockets. "Let's see if they were true."