Beyond The End [Dream team x Reader]

Chapter 42

Y/N's POV

Morning in the Nether didn't really exist.

There was no sun.

No sky.

Just the same dull glow of lava reflecting off blackstone walls and the constant low sound of something burning somewhere far away.

But we still called it morning.

Because it made things feel normal.

Even when nothing was.

Sapnap was already awake when I opened my eyes.

Sitting near the edge of the shelter, rolling his shoulder carefully like he was testing how much it still hurt.

"You're up early," I said.

He glanced over.

"Couldn't sleep."

"That's a lie."

He smiled slightly.

"Okay, I slept badly."

I stepped outside with him.

The air outside was warmer than it should've been.

Always was here.

Dream was already gone.

George was still inside, talking loudly to himself about "spectator memory organization," which apparently meant he was trying to categorize trauma into something useful.

I didn't ask.

Sapnap followed my gaze.

"Dream's been like that a lot lately."

"Like what?"

"Quiet."

I nodded slowly.

That wasn't new.

But it was heavier now.

Like something sitting on him that he didn't know how to put down.

⸻

We spent most of the morning planning.

Nether wart.

Blaze rods.

Ender pearls.

Everything we needed for the End was locked behind things that wanted to kill us.

Dream had drawn a rough plan in the dirt outside the shelter.

Three zones.

Fortress routes.

Possible Bastion trade paths.

He was focused.

Too focused.

George crouched beside him.

"This is starting to look like we're organizing a war."

"It is a war," Dream said without looking up.

George paused.

"...Oh."

Sapnap leaned over my shoulder.

"You buying this whole 'war' thing?"

"I think he's serious."

"I know he's serious," Sapnap muttered. "That's the problem."

⸻

We didn't leave immediately.

Nether travel now meant preparation, not urgency.