Respawn

Chapter 9

The next few hours after I awoke were spent trading notes and opinions on what happened.

"So you can speak pig," He noted, leaning against an endstone block.

"I guess. I learn languages instantly, I think," I fiddled my thumbs.

"I have an idea," He reached out and touched my shoulder, teleporting me to the overworld. Instead of the forest, however, we were in a dark cave. Hisses were heard in the distance, as well as groans.

"Where are we?" I whispered, glancing around. I was unable to see very clearly, maybe fifty blocks or so. Luckily, I could sense the objects with my telekinesis, and relaxed.

"It's a cave I explored with Mina a while back. All the torches are out by now," He explained. Mina?

"She's a friend," He explained quickly. "More than a friend."

"She was taken by Rex?" I asked quietly. He nodded in surprise, as he had not told me any of this.

"Watch out!" He suddenly spoke, ramming into a spider that had snuck up behind me. The spider hissed.

:I apologise, my lord. I did not know they were important to you.: It bowed and scuttled away.

"I think it was talking to you," I stared at the spot where the spider disappeared. "He called you lord."

"You sure he wasn't talking to you?" Herobrine floated up a few blocks, examining the cave more thoroughly.

"Yeah. Anyway, why did you take me here?" I asked, running my hands on the rough stone.

"First, I wanted you to become more multilingual. Where else than a cave full of monsters?" He continued before I could get a word in. "Also, the End is kind of... repetitive, doncha think? So we could find ores and things here to make, a house or something. Make it more interesting."

I perked up. "That's a great idea! Isn't there a blue ore, lapis something? You told me that was really pretty. Let's go." Laughter escaped from his lips as I latched onto his wrist and yanked him through the cave.

"Can you see?" He asked suddenly.

"Well, sort-of. Fifty blocks?" I told him my estimate. He was silent. "Why?"

"Normal humans can definitely not see that far, but I can distinctly see this entire cave," He gestured around him. "I'm not sure why."

"Maybe you have a dormant ability," I considered.

"Maybe," He squinted for a moment before dragging me over to a blue-spotted stone block.

"I wish there was some more light," I murmured, trying to make out the cave clearly. As if responding to my voice, the cave lightened, revealing monsters and ores. The light did not cause the zombies and skeletons to ignite, and they wandered around in confusion.

"And that is one of your dormant abilities?" Herobrine smirked, turning back to the blue-spotted stone. He smashed it to bits with his fist, and held out the twinkling blue gems for me to see.

"Lapis lazuli," He pronounced, placing them in my outstretched hands. "There's tons of things you can do with them."

Time passed, and we obtained diamonds and gold, more lapis and some redstone. I learned to speak skeleton, zombie, and bat. The only intelligent out of the three were the skeletons, however.

[Do you travel much?] I asked one.

[No, I have never seen the upper world.] It responded.

Eventually, we traveled back to the end and made what Herobrine called a house, though the top was open. We made it on Vita to keep the endermen from stealing the blocks we made it with.

"Where did you learn to use the redstone aesthetically?" Herobrine laughed, looking at the sprinkled red dust.

"I don't know," I narrowed my eyes, thinking, prodding my brain for memories.

"Well, I think it's- Maria?" I keeled over, overcome by a sudden pain to my head. I squeezed my hands against my temples, trying to fight off the oncoming headache.

"I see something," I gasped, opening my eyes wide. "Herobrine, I see something!"

"What do you see, Maria?"

"It's red. It's so red, Herobrine! It's that terrible place down-" I cut off with a shriek of pain. "Look, there's a man. I recognise him... he's speaking, he talking to me. He's saying 'Good job 24, you've made th-'"

"Congrats, subject 24. All tests have run smoothly. I believe we will be done before Notch." The tall man touched my shoulder lightly. "As I promised, you will get all of the benefits. Powers beyond imagination, if the test runs correctly again."

"Renatus, I shall do everything I can to make you proud," My lips moved before I realized I was planning on talking.

"When have I ever doubted you?" He gave me a chilling smile, receding into a dark room. My feet moved without consent, and I approached a large window overlooking a red landscape. It was empty, yet the big black doors were the same. It was also smaller, and there were other things that were different. I tried to latch onto these things and convince myself that it was not the horrible place I encountered at the bottom of the Void.

"Nice place, 24," Another being approached me, one of similar likeness.

"Thank you, 76. Yours is quite nice as well," I replied.

"I am curious to discover if it is nice enough to make it," 76 sighed.

"The dragons were a nice touch, however, you may wish to add more structure," I commented lightly.

"Wonderful idea, 24," Renatus appeared behind me. "Though I am quite sure 76 is able to think up ideas on her own." He gave 76 a hard glare, and she bowed and walked away. I was unmoving from the window.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" He stood beside me. "It has to be perfect; it is for me, after all. You have not changed your mind on ruling another land?"

"It is a great honor to create your realm, sir. I have indeed thought of a name," I informed him stoically.

"And?"

"I have decided, lightly, to name it Respawn, in honor of your name, sir," Movement in the far corner of the red landscape caught my eye for a moment before it was gone.

His cold smile was back. "That is a lovely idea, 24. Thank you. You are dismissed." I bowed before starting off in the same direction as 76.

"You have earned the day off," He noted as an afterthought. "As a reward for your behavior." Bowing, I continued in the opposite direction, everything fading around me as I progressed until it was all black.