New World [Complete]

Chapter Five: Discovery

I yawned and stretched as the sun rose up towards the jungle treetops. It took me a moment before I remembered the light from last night and my self-assigned quest to check it out. Once again, the same light caught my eye despite the increase of light around me. I packed up my things and ate a quick meal before using the treetops and vines as platforms to the ground. When I dropped lightly to the ground, I had to peer through the foliage to locate the light again. It was much closer this time. I crouched and slowly approached it. I finally broke through the trees for a clear line of view, and it wasn't what I expected. There was a stone building, broken and covered in vines. It was surely an old building. But what did it contain - loot, mobs, or nothing at all? There was only one way to find out.

I peered inside, seeing mostly blackness. I placed one torch in the doorway and checked that it was safe before continuing onward. The building was huge! It was mostly underground with tons of rooms and mobs everywhere. As I explored I looted every chest I found. There was nothing all that special, but why not? Eventually, I came to a room that I didn’t understand. All it contained was the framework for a portal, but it wasn’t a portal to Hell. Where would it go? Was it worth finding out? It might be an upgraded version of Hell with more things to explore, but that could also mean more mobs.

I stood there considering for a while, before I noticed that there were twelve slots for something, probably to activate it. Eyes of Ender; the answer came my mind quickly.

Just a few days later, I had all twelve eyes I needed. Eyes of Ender were made with just ender pearls and blaze powder. As I placed each of the eyes in their spots, I wondered where this portal might take me. This was more difficult to activate, so it must be something bigger or more difficult than Hell, which I had learned was actually called the Nether. As I placed the second to last eye in the slot, I started to doubt myself.

What if this led somewhere worse than the Nether? I didn’t have the supplies I needed for such a journey. Would I have to go back home, and then maybe come back? That was, if I actually wanted to find out where this led. What if’s ran through my head. What if this just led to my death? What if I wasn’t strong enough to take on what was the other side? On the other hand, what if it led to some sort of Heaven - the opposite of the Nether? And hadn’t I been searching for adventure in the first place?

Finally, I decided to come back in the morning with more supplies. I would get my most OP diamond armor and tools, as well as stacks of food and wood. To get home quickly, I tracked down a horse and galloped towards my home. Since I wasn’t enjoying the scenery and had a mount, I made it home just as the sun was setting. I tied the horse to a fence post and headed inside. I collected all of my supplies – armor, pickaxe, bow/arrows, axe, sword, cooked pork chops, the last Eye of Ender, and much more – before heading to bed.

The next morning, I took the same horse and arrived at around midday, with the sun high in the sky. I hesitated in front of the entrance to the building for only a moment and then found my way to the room with the portal. I hesitated once again, for a moment longer, before stepping into the room. Suddenly, sound blared from all around me. It was a series of note blocks, set off by a pressure plate I had failed to notice, my instincts told me. I didn't have any time to question it. This was definitely not natural!

Who had set this up?