SHADOW KNIGHT'S REVENGE: A Minecraft Diaries Fan-Fiction

Chapter I: Shadow Knight Reborn

Everything was dark. Too dark.

Only vivid flashes of memories blurred together in her head. A forest. A devious figure, cloaked in white. An amulet. A white palace. A goddess's statue. Three beings, tainted by darkness. A gleaming, diamond sword turned bloody. Pale, blue eyes, horrorstruck as to what had just happened.

And then, Arabella woke up screaming.

White-hot, agonising pain seared through her flesh, and she felt like her bones turned into fire. Her skin felt like it was melting, and her deafening shrieks never stopped. It was much worse than someone dousing her in gasoline and throwing a lit matchstick on her. It was pain unlike she had ever felt. Even the blow of a divine weapon could not compare to this unbelievable agony. She was nothing but fire. Terrifying, burning fire.

And then, everything stopped hurting.

Arabella opened her eyes, and for a few moments, her vision was totally red. The pain subsided, and her eyesight became clear. At first, she had no idea where she was or how she got here. She took in her surroundings. It was just a room made of dark netherbrick, with the only source of light coming from the fires lit around her. There was an opening at the end of the room which seemed to only show the view of a flaming sky. The last thing she noticed was a very familiar girl cloaked in black, taking interest in the equally-curious Arabella.

"Where..." mumbled Arabella, "when... how... what?"

The girl finally stood up and started talking, and as soon as the first words came out of her mouth, Arabella immediately recognised her poisonously sweet voice. "Glad to see you're finally awake."

"...Sasha?"

"Miss me?" asked Sasha sarcastically.

"What have you done?" asked Arabella, trying--but failing--to sound threatening. She tried to bring herself to get up from her bed before collapsing in fatigue.

Sasha smirked. "Don't even bother trying to get up from that altar."

"Altar?" wondered Arabella aloud, before realising what she was laying on was not a bed for rest, but in fact an altar used for sacrifices... or Shadow Knight rituals.

Arabella immediately tried to get up to no avail, before Sasha started giggling devilishly.

"I don't even know why you're trying to get up," she said. "After all, we're only trying to help you."

"You mean, brainwash me into a psychotic monster?" spat Arabella. "I'll--"

She collapsed yet again, as the after-effects of this ritual left her weak. Sasha tutted disdainfully. "If you can just stop trying to fight the ritual, I'll explain what happened."

Arabella wanted to snap something at her, but she gritted her teeth and waited for Sasha to explain.

"Finally." Sasha smiled maliciously, knowing she got the upper hand in this situation. She started pacing across the room. "Well, Arabella, we've revived you."

"What?"

Sasha shushed her. "No interruptions. After that head guard of Phoenix Drop--what was his name, Garroth? After he, well, killed you, the remaining people in Irene's Dimension left through a portal, except for him and the High Priest of O'khasis. I don't know what happened to these two, but they certainly left you as well.

"Fifteen years had gone by in the real world and the Nether. Because of the imbalances caused by this portal, a rift in the realm barrier allowed a portal to be created here. Unfortunately, the portal led to Irene's Dimension and not to the Overworld.

"However, it wasn't a misfortune at all when we found you, dead when you could've been saved, disrespected by your so-called friends when they didn't even bother recovering your body, betrayed by a cold-blooded lord... just like us Shadow Knights. So, we took you back to the Nether and began the process of a Shadow Knight ritual."

"You what?" Arabella interrupted, horrorstruck.

"Honestly, these interruptions are getting annoying," said Sasha, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, back to the story. Granted, it was painful like the ritual has always been, but wouldn't you say it was worth it?"

"Worth what?" spat Arabella angrily. "It's worth absolutely nothing to be a mindless, bloodthirsty monster like you."

Sasha shook her head. "You're missing the point, Arabella. Tell me: who tried--and succeeded--helping you, and who left you for dead? Us, or your friends? Mind you, Garroth is the reason you died in the first place."

"Garroth was being manipulated by Zane," countered Arabella. "None of it was his fault."

"Are you sure? Someone has to be at fault. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here in the first place."

Even though Arabella wouldn't admit it, Sasha's words made a lot of sense. Admitting defeat, she grumbled, "Go on..."

Sasha smirked. "Now, wouldn't you say that your 'friends' are ungrateful for everything that you've done for them? You helped that wyvern save Laurance from the Nether. Did he ever thank you for that?"

Arabella had never given it much thought until now. It was true, though--Laurance had never thanked her for helping him and Ungrth.

"Afterwards, Laurance was in terrible shape, but messing with the realm barrier got the Ender taint on both you and that wyvern. The taint killed it. How would it have affected you? I don't know about you, but taint is much more serious than the transformation into a Shadow Knight, yet Laurance was still the top priority."

Arabella didn't respond.

"And you've always been the third wheel," continued Sasha. "Garroth loves Aphmau. Laurence loves Aphmau. Dante loves Kawaii~Chan. Who loves you, Arabella?"

That was the final straw. Arabella never realised how blind she had been to help those who wouldn't help her. They didn't care about her. They didn't help her. Nobody loved her.

You were so stupid, Arabella, she chided herself, to waste your last breath saving someone who would never love you back.

"We've all been through this," said Sasha. "We were the betrayed, the disrespected, the unloved. There's only one person who can set this all right, and that's the Shadow Lord. He only asks for one thing in return: becoming a Shadow Knight. So, what do you say, Arabella?"

Arabella suddenly found strength in her bitterness, which soon turned into red-hot rage. She'd only been a puppet for Phoenix Drop. They wouldn't care what happened to her. They were selfish idiots who had never considered her. Why had she ever called Phoenix Drop her home? She didn't care about the village or its people at all.

Arabella looked at Sasha right in the eyes, and said, "Deal."