Chapter 1: Already in Peril
“Alright, time to move out.”
A boy crouched in front of some trees while he took out a bottle with a light-grey liquid inside of it. He took out the cork, and drank the contents down to the last drop. Suddenly, he could feel his body tingling, and then slowly fading away into nothing. Hmm... the potion tasted like it’s gonna last a while... looks like I was right about using redstone to lengthen the effects. He smirked to himself. The potion was vital to commence his search in the junkyard, and he needed all the time he could get. Since he knew that there would be guards guarding the junkyard - and he didn’t know why they thought it was necessary to do so - he had to walk slowly towards the entrance, step by step. As he approached the entrance, to his surprise, there was no one there. He didn’t want the chance to be wasted, so he sneaked in the junkyard faster.
As he was inside the junkyard, he noticed that there are a lot of unused items in big piles, and it seemed that it was divided into categories. He slowly tiptoed, for there are also items on the ground, and he didn’t want to make any noise that could blow his cover. Eventually, he found a pile that was riddled with redstone contraptions. His heart pounced, but he patiently crouched and floundered towards the pile. When he got there, he slowly crawled upwards and began his search.
“Alright, now where’s the repeater...”
Slow-paced, he took out one item at a time and placed it at somewhere stable, and even stored some items that he wanted into his inventory. He could take his time, since the Invisibility effect that he got from the potion he brewed could last for about eight minutes; more than enough time to find what he needed, but he knew that every second that he lost could mean more lives suffering. He wanted to dig the items out of the pile quickly so he could finish his project quicker, but he persisted to do things one at a time for he did not want to attract attention. After digging for a while, he found the item that he needed.
“Finally! Sometimes it’s good that people still throw away important components like this. Quite a shame though, these things are pretty expensive. Oh well, better get going.”
Before he was about to get down, he heard some chattering outside the junkyard. Oh no, the guards are here! He thought in a panic, while he got down from the pile as quietly as he could. By the time he had reached solid ground, he noticed that there are eight guards separating towards the corners of the junkyard, their weapons raised to possibly fend off any intruders. As soon as he was on solid ground, he looked around, trying to find an exit as the guards had recently blocked his entrance. Luckily, there was a small gap between the fences that surrounded the junkyard, which makes the perfect opportunity for him to escape. But, like any plan, there was a problem.
A guard was guarding the gap as if he knew that a trespasser would come in and steal some items in the junkyard. The guard held an iron sword, looking slightly bored and a bit tired, possibly because he worked overtime. However, as a guard, he tried his best to stay awake while doing his duty. The boy was a bit upset due to the fact that he now had an escape route only to be ruined by a guard, regardless he had no choice but to sneak past him and set back home.The boy walked slowly to avoid the guard from hearing footsteps since even with the Invisibility effect, people can still hear the sounds of people running and determine where the source is from, thus making them alert. He pocketed the repeater into his inventory and crouched to be as slow and quiet as possible. He had to be careful as the path is riddled with even more junk and items since the guards had accidenly bumped the piles here and there when they separated, and if he accidentally hit one of them, it’s game over for him. He was impatient to get outside, as the repeater’s his last item that was needed to complete his project, but he knew better than to just run and risk it all. He had done too much to let his impatience ruin it all.
However, as he was a few metres close to the gap, he accidentally knocked a diamond hoe that was near his escape route. The hoe made a “cling” sound, which was enough for the half-awake guard to become alert. And that’s why people never make diamond hoes... thought the boy.
Letting his actions first before rational thinking, he ran towards the gap, just barely slamming onto the guard that went into the junkyard that was trying to find the cause of the sound. As he ran, he looked back, half expecting the guard to listen to the footsteps he had made, but luckily the guard just shooked his head, thinking a mob must’ve been into the junkyard before running away. The boy was relieved but he knew that he had to hurry. Time waits for no one, especially when the world’s already in peril... he thought to himself while running towards the north.
After he ran for a few minutes, he finally stopped to catch his breath. He bent down while holding his knees while catching his breath since he had run for an incredible distance. When he finally calmed down, he raised his head, only to see despair and destruction that lingered at the scene.
There is a lot of people queuing up at the campsite, their clothes were torn and their wounds unattended. They are lining up to receive their daily rations, which is just a piece of bread and 2 potatoes. The iron-armoured guards are patroling the campsite, strictly looking for rule-breakers that may sneak in some pieces of bread into their inventory or make a run from the campsite. The people’s faces were filled with glum, despair and sorrow, as they knew that there’s no hope left for freedom. In the far end of the campsite, for the people who did not know much about the campsite, it seemed to be a training ground for the guards to stay fit. But for the boy, it was much worse. Rule-breakers tend to be the apple for shooting grounds, misbehaving people were often becoming training dummies for the guards to practice their fighting skills.
The boy looked at the campsite, his face filled with rage and justice, although in reality, no one could see his face since he’s invisible. He had once become one of them; stuck in a camp, having little food for survival, and often worked at the mines for resources. When he did not find any resource that will be used for the camp, he will be punished with 2 hits of the iron sword. And as his hunger bar was really low, healing tends to be quite slow. He wanted to reminisce the times he spent in the camp, although he chose not to remember them since most of the time spent was full of pain and suffering. He did a silent prayer as luck struck to him that fateful day when he escaped. He was hoarding a bit of food without much notice from the guards, and he got some nearly broken stone pickaxes that he was able to recover. The night of his escape was smooth; he made an underground tunnel from his hut to freedom, without even being noticed by anyone. As he went into the tunnel, he placed some blocks that cover his tracks from behind. He kept placing them while tunnelling to prevent the guards from finding his tracks. When his pickaxe was about to break, he mined upwards, and luckily he was at a forest, quite far away from the forest. Then, he had his freedom. But he’s determined to free the people from the despair he had faced.
“Hold on... I’ll get you all out from the clutches of despair, I promise!” That was the last words he told to himself as he went into hiding.
Back to the present, the boy got his final look at the campsite, he walked away towards his secret base that was a few miles away from the camp and the dumpsite. As he walked, he reminisced the event that started it all, so that he can still remember his task.
A long time ago, the world was actually in peace. Many people had their own proper homes, and they lived comfortably. In the world they lived on, there was no single ruler that controls everyone in this world; only leaders in towns and cities. The leaders from each town and city promised a world-lasting peace among them, which made everyone not to worry about wars and threats. Although a world-peace policy was made among them, some decided to produce soldiers in case there was a threat that could result in casualties.
One town in particular, however, called themselves “Empire of The World”, and devoted themselves to spread awareness about getting stronger and better to prepare for the future of the world. They wanted the world to be only inhabited by the strong, and only the weak will perish. Of course, no one wanted death to the people, including the weak, so every city and town rejected their ideas. The members of the town thought that the people who rejected them are just scared to fight, and think they would gladly let unknown forces to conquer the world rather than to die. Determined to make the world a “better place”, the leader of the town, Darkoir Xiehat, waged war to every single city and town with his trained soldiers. The attack was so sudden, that no one managed to make a counter-attack against them, even the towns and cities that have soldiers on the ready. Darkoir was later known to be very crafty, sly, and most certainly wicked. Out of fear, some pledged to fight alongside him. The rest, however, was sent into camps that worked like a prison, but worse.
The boy sighed, knowing that Darkoir is still planning something up his sleeve. Despite having total control of the world, it seemed that he’s still planning something nefarious, as recently he started to demand more resources. From bits of information that he gathered from the guards when he spied on them, he’s planning something regarding not only the world itself but the whole universe as well. It could be a threat, but all he had was hearsay from the guards, and he had no way to know it otherwise.
“All the more reason to get the project done. Alright, Taiki. Let’s finish this.” He quietly murmured to himself. With his stamina coming back to him, he ran as fast as he could to the secret base.
Unknowingly to him, there is also a person in Invisibility effect, and he was hiding beside the tree Taiki was before. As the footsteps of Taiki grew fainter, the person snickered evilly. He had been stalking the boy for a while ever since he started to gather some parts from the junkyard, and he’s interested in the project the boy mentioned a few times before. Sometimes, with his Invisibility effect, he followed the boy to his secret base, and he discovered what the project was. “It could’ve ruined the plans of my magnum opus, but I’d like to see the boy try. After all, the world is already doomed from the beginning... and no one like him shall stop it.” He told himself when he got his first glance on the book and quiver the boy left as a sort of diary.
“Just you wait, Taiki. You may have your way for now, but you can’t change the fate of this universe. I’ll let everyone know what it feels like to be lost of hope, especially you.”
