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

Chapter IV: Evade and Escape

"I'm going to rip your head off!" roared Sasha, but her voice was shaky. For once, she was actually scared.

Arabella was shell-shocked for a few seconds. Back when she had been a guard for Phoenix Drop, she'd barely spoken to Zenix. He seemed nice until he tried to murder Aphmau, but wouldn't that put Zenix on the Shadow Knights' side?

Apparently not. He nearly destroyed the village, and afterwards, he killed half of the Shadow Army. That meant Arabella had two enemies: Phoenix Drop and insane, power-hungry Shadow Knights.

The red-eyed devil casually stepped onto the Nether grounds as if it was nothing. "It's good to be back home, isn't it?"

Sasha unsheathed her ebony sword, but didn't charge at Zenix. "This is your final warning. Get out, or I'll kill you."

Zenix started laughing wildly. In the midst of that, a second voice started laughing in unison with him, but it was much more demonic and insane. It was as if a second voice had taken over his and turned him madder than he was already. It was enough to frighten Arabella.

"Really, Sasha?" replied Zenix and his second voice. "You and I both know no matter what, you can't kill a Shadow Knight. So, don't bother with your pathetic threats. You can't kill me... but I can kill you."

Sasha's face contorted into a frightened one. There was no possible way that Zenix found a way to kill Shadow Knights, but at the same time, it didn't seem like he was bluffing.

"What fresh hell is this?" called out Gene's voice. He came to look into the commotion, only to discover Zenix. Immediately, he turned to the Shadow Army and yelled, "What are you doing? Attack!"

The demonic monsters all charged at Zenix at once, but he wasn't even fazed. In fact, he seemed delighted. The second one of them rammed into him, they simple vanished into thin air. Their remains were only a bloodcurdling scream that also disappeared. Zenix didn't simply kill that thing. He destroyed its spirit.

"I told you," he tutted, his manic voice taking over his normal one, "you can't kill me, but I can kill you. Every Shadow Knight slaughtered at my hands only adds to my strength. Their spirit is absorbed into my body, and their power is now mine. And with this unimaginable power, not only will I raise the Shadow Lord, I will become him!"

The Shadow Army, now realising they can't defeat this hellish entity, scattered around for their own safety and failing as Zenix took their spirits without any effort.

"Get out!" shouted Gene, but the message wasn't meant for Zenix. He was telling Sasha and Arabella to evacuate. "Break the portal when you can!"

Sasha shrieked and was heading straight for the portal. Unfortunately, Arabella was paralysed with fear and couldn't even move.

Zenix laughed like a madman. "The first wave of demons have already invaded the Overworld. They're going to make my job a little easier. As for the remaining of the Shadow Army, they'll be perfect fuel for my power. You're next, Gene!"

Gene suddenly disappeared. Whether he retreated, escaped through the portal or got killed by Zenix was unknown, but Arabella was the only human-minded Shadow Knight left in the scene. She knew exactly what she had to do.

The weapons of the soldiers who were destroyed by Zenix littered the ground. Quickly, Arabella ran to the nearest battle-axe and lifted it up. It was slightly heavier than the one she used to own, but it'd work. However, she wasn't going to attack Zenix. She was smart enough not to do that.

Instead, she charged at the Nether portal and jumped through the purple spirals making it up. Just before it transported her to the Overworld, Arabella rammed her new weapon into the shale walls in an attempt to break them. Whether or not it succeeded, she didn't know.

The last thing she heard was the clanging of weapons, battle cries blending in with screams of terror, and an angry Zenix roaring, "You can't escape every time!"

The purple glow of the Nether portal soon turned into a blinding, white light and Arabella was momentarily stunned. The loud noises were continuously ringing in her head and when she thought the light couldn't get any brighter, it shone again. Arabella wondered if the realm barriers failed and she just died again, but then, the horrific sounds faded away and the bright light died out.

Arabella found herself lying splat on her back in some sort of green meadow. It seemed comforting, but at the same time unfamiliar. This didn't seem like the Overworld she knew. Where was she?

She blinked and sat upright to see the Nether portal in front of her, still active. Hopefully, she managed to break it in the Nether, and this portal was only in the Overworld and wasn't activated in the Nether.

Arabella still didn't understand where she was. It had to be a dream, right? It seemed as if such a place with beautiful trees surrounding an area made up of soft tufts of grass would only appear in your imagination. This was too good to be true.

However, everything felt real. The Nether portal was there, Arabella was still aching, and her battle-axe also travelled across dimensions with her, so it must be the Overworld. But why did it look so different?

Fifteen years went by in that short timespan. Arabella had totally forgotten about that. In the Nether, nothing seemed too different, but now that she was here, she actually felt the changes. She also realised everyone changed as well. Arabella was forced to farewell her familiar heaven and welcome this new environment. She missed fifteen years in the real world. That was too overwhelming.

Breathe in, breathe out, Arabella told herself. She took in a shaky breath. This was a new reality, and it'd take some time to adjust to it. It'd also be difficult to cope with the fact that everything she knew about her home a few days ago was actually fifteen years. You can do it, Arabella. Just breathe.

Arabella was lost, but she wasn't in any immediate danger. Night already fell, and travelling through the realm barrier sapped up too much of her strength. She felt slightly dizzy and ready to fall asleep.

On that note, Arabella collapsed into her slumber.