By Vy Nguyen

Prologue

Three hundred years ago…

“Lock that portal, and it will be the last thing you do.” A glowing white orb crackled above Herobrine’s palm.

Luin dashed through the ancient city, his heart racing. The illusioner scattered his attention to different hallways. Copies of Luin appeared, all rushing toward the screaming portal. Most magic required concentration. His magic required the opposite, the ability to multitask.

Herobrine’s orb exploded the illusion to his right. Luin stumbled and ducked behind a pillar. Herobrine continued blasting the rest of his clones. Luin glanced up at the evoker by Herobrine’s side.

Herobrine laughed. “Kiran, this is an ingenious way to give your pillagers target practice. Moving targets. So realistic. Too bad we’ll have to kill that illusioner.”

Kiran’s face remained stony. “Too bad indeed.”

Luin tore his eyes away from his old friend. He summoned more clones of himself and tore toward the portal.

Ahead, the last of the Builders rushed through the pulsing blue gateway. Behind him, furious wardens drove the bodies of pillagers into the sculk ground.

Luin’s ears rang with frightened tinklings of the allays. They gave ghostly screams as they were turned into vexes by Kiran.

Luin clenched his teeth. This was all his fault. How could he have been so heartless? He had led Herobrine and the Illager Empire right to the last ancient city.

Luin clutched the potion that the captain of the Builders had created. Bardick had been infected with Herobrine’s zombie plague before he had a chance to use it.

The potion could close off the last portal to the sculk dimension. Save the remaining wardens from being corrupted.

Luin’s heart pounded. He had to make up for his mistake.

Luin felt threads of his consciousness snap as his clones were destroyed. He climbed up the last stairwell. The huge portal was deafening. Luin swung his arm and tossed the potion toward it.

A vex hissed. He swooped overhead and snatched the potion. The corrupted allay laughed and flew toward Kiran.

“No!” shouted Luin. He materialized his despair and desperately spread the blindness effect outward.

The vex faltered and dropped the vial. Luin climbed up the glowstone lantern pillar and leapt upward.

He felt the cold glass in his hands as he caught the potion. Then a sharp pain exploded, as did a sharp white light. Herobrine’s shot drove into his chest.

“Looks like I won the target practice.” Herobrine’s words seemed to echo in Luin’s ears.

Luin saw his life force experience points spraying into the air. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Maybe that was how illusioners saw the world as they died.

No. It couldn’t end this way.

As his last heartbeats sounded in his ears, Luin twisted his arm and flung the potion. The liquid splashed out on the reinforced deepslate. The soulfire flared and sizzled. The portal screamed one last time and blacked out.

Luin’s vision blacked out as well, and he crashed to the cold stone floor.

---

Chapter 1

Alex heaved the grating iron doors open. “Reganor! Are you in there?”

The shouts of the pillagers rang behind her. A bow splintered as a sword crashed into it.

Alex ducked inside the cell. A shadowy figure sat leaning against the obsidian wall.

“Get up!” said Alex. “We don’t have much time!”

“Don’t have much time?” Reganor asked dully. “You took an awfully long time to come rescue me. Steve didn’t even bother to show up, I see. Just send his girlfriend to pick up the luggage.”

Alex pursed her lips. “Fine. Consider yourself a piece of luggage and stop talking.”

Steve’s laughter sounded. His head popped around the cell door. “Well, Reganor, I hope you missed arguing with Alex, because the good times have returned!”

Steve turned around to block a vindicator’s axe. The grey-skinned enemy swung his weapon at Steve. Steve’s diamond sword clashed.

Alex yanked Reganor to his feet. “I don’t know how Steve became friends with a sourpuss like you.”

Reganor grunted as he limped out of the cell. Alex frowned. He was hurt. Of course the Warden Master would starve his prisoners. They couldn’t risk escaping with only half a hunger point. Alex tossed Reganor some loaves of bread.

Reganor glanced at her suspiciously, but he quickly consumed the food.

Pillagers shouted as they ran around the corner toward them.

“Please tell me you two have an escape plan,” said Reganor.

“Of course we do,” said Steve. “The plan is to free Reganor, then escape. Simple.”

Steve rushed down the hallway. Pillagers shot arrows after him. “Follow meeee!” shouted Steve.

Alex and Reganor sprinted after him.

“You should know, Reganor, Steve hasn’t rested since we came back from the wardens’ home dimension,” said Alex. “He’s been searching for you nonstop.”

“Not nonstop,” admitted Steve. “Everyone needs snack breaks.”

“Secondly, I’m not Steve’s girlfriend,” said Alex. Her cheeks felt hot. It was because she was running for life, that was all.

“Good,” said Reganor. “No one would want to be stuck with you all their life, Alex.”

Alex shrugged. “Good try, Reganor. But nothing you say will insult me, because I don’t care about what you think.”

Steve skidded to a stop in the middle of the hallway. “Guys! We can’t get out this way.”

“What? How do you know?” asked Reganor.

Steve slipped out a ladder piece from one of the floating pouches of his hotbar belt. “Bardick told me,” he answered Reganor. “He’s keeping an eye on things.”

“You brought the zombie?” shouted Reganor

“Technically he brought himself.” Steve placed the ladder on the wall and scaled it.

Alex tried not to think about Bardick. It wasn’t his fault that Bardick was a zombie. But the immortal Ancient Builder had the strange ability to talk to Steve through telepathy. It creeped her out, especially since she and Reganor couldn’t hear their magic mind talk.

Steve hammered away at the cobblestone block above them. Alex slashed her sword at the pillagers below. She and Reganor hung onto the ladder rungs.

“That’s how you knew where I was?” asked Reganor. “Bardick was spying on the pillagers?”

“He wasn’t spying,” said Alex. “They knew he was there.”

“Fun fact,” said Steve. “Pillagers ignore zombies. They don’t see zombies as anything to worry about.”

Steve broke through the ceiling. He climbed up to the second floor of the outpost. “This way. The pillagers aren’t here for the moment. Bardick says they’ve gathered in the courtyard to stop us from leaving through the gate.”

“What…else did Bardick find out when he was spying?” asked Reganor.

“Just the obvious,” said Steve. “The Warden Master got the pillagers to work for him. I think they’re expecting him to deliver a shipment of allays.”

“But the real question is, how did you survive?” Alex asked Reganor.

Reganor’s face darkened. “Who’s asking? The Warden Master told me it was up to Steve if I lived or died. Steve obviously chose to let me die.”

A flash of shame crossed Steve’s face. “I never said that! It all happened so fast. And I didn’t really have a choice.”

“He threw me in a pit of wardens, Steve!” said Reganor. “I had to save myself.”

“Well, at least we’re here to save you now, right?” said Steve.

Reganor grumbled, but he didn’t object. They scrambled to the roof of the pillager outpost tower.

Vindicators climbed up after them, grunting in fury and waving their heavy axes.

“Cover me, Alex.” Steve dashed to the edge of the roof.

Alex whipped out her iron sword, fighting off the vindicators. Steve spun his floating belt pouches until he found moss blocks.

As she fought, Alex tossed a bow to Reganor. “Please make yourself useful.”

Steve squatted down and began to build backwards. His makeshift bridge stretched over the courtyard below them, where numerous pillagers were gathered. They harrumphed and tried to shoot arrows.

Alex knew Steve wasn’t afraid of heights, but just watching him balancing on the very edge of the one-block bridge made her stomach flip.

“Alrighty, come on, guys!” said Steve. He had reached the middle of the courtyard.

Alex and Reganor sprinted onto Steve’s bridge. Alex took out her hoe and struck the moss blocks to make a gap between them and the vindicators. Reganor shot over her head at the enemy.

Alex was thankful Steve had used moss. Cobblestone would take more time to break, and they didn’t have time. The vindicators skidded to a stop. They didn’t dare jump the gap.

Alex and Reganor slowly crept along the floating one-block bridge. You couldn’t call yourself a Builder if you were afraid of heights. But…it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Steve placed his last moss block. With a shout, he jumped off the bridge onto the ramparts of the pillager’s outer wall. His sword clashed with the guards’ weapons. He, Alex, and Reganor cleared their way to the other side of the walkway.

“Whoo-hoo! We’re home free!” Steve leapt off the wall. He splashed a water bucket the second before he hit the ground. Water gushed out and Steve splashed into the pool.

Alex and Reganor held their breaths and jumped after Steve. Splash!

Alex coughed and staggered to her feet. She didn’t know how Steve’s one bucket of water held enough water to break their fall, but she was glad it did.

Steve, Alex, and Reganor fled as pillagers shot arrows from the walls.

“A perfect end to a day!” shouted Steve. The beautiful sunset shone behind the friends as they ran for their lives.

---

Chapter 2

A blue campfire shone under the oak trees. Steve stretched his sore muscles. He contentedly slouched against a trunk.

“Tell me again why you use soulfire now?” Reganor raised his eyebrow at the blue fire.

“To make Bardick feel more at home.” Steve yawned.

The zombie stood silently under the leaves.

I appreciate the gesture, Steve. Bardick’s message appeared in Steve’s mind. But I’d rather not remember what happened to the Ancient City.

Steve sat up. Oh. Sorry. Steve cocked his head. At least we got a little bit of revenge on the pillagers today.

Bardick turned away. Revenge doesn’t bring back what you lost.

Steve frowned. Much was lost when Herobrine and the pillagers attacked the Ancient City centuries ago. The pillagers kidnapped the allays and turned them into vexes. The wardens, once their guardians, were corrupted.

And Bardick’s younger brother had been killed.

Bardick narrowed his eyes. Moreover, it is too late for revenge. The pillagers who attacked us are long dead.

Oh yeah, what happened to that illusioner who betrayed you all? asked Steve. I’ve never seen an illusioner in a raid before.

I don’t care what happened to Luin and the others, replied Bardick. It doesn’t matter anymore.

Alex took some smoked fish out of her furnace. “Here, everyone. Fill up those hunger points.” Alex handed the food to Steve and Reganor.

“Thanks,” said Steve. “Hey, does anyone think it was strange that we didn’t run into the Warden Master today?”

“I’m just glad we didn’t,” said Alex. She shuddered.

Steve couldn’t blame her. The last time they clashed with the Warden Master, Steve had been infected with sculk and hypnotized. Then the Warden Master had told Steve to kill Alex. And he had almost did.

Steve clenched his fists. “I was actually looking forward to seeing the Warden Master again.”

Reganor shook his head. “Steve, come now. How are you possibly planning to defeat a sorcerer like the Warden Master?”

“We have to,” said Steve. “Bardick thinks he’s actually Herobrine.”

Reganor stopped. “Herobrine?”

“It’s one theory.” Steve put his hands behind his head. “Actually, I think the Warden Master might be an evoker.”

“What makes you think that?” asked Alex.

“Well, evokers can control vexes and fangs. Before they got corrupted, those used to be creatures in the sculk dimension. Maybe this evoker just got so powerful that he’s able to control wardens, too. After all, the allays came from the same dimension as the wardens.”

Alex stared at the stars. “Why do the illagers hate Builders so much?”

Steve glanced at her. “There’s just a lot of hate to go around.”

Alex met his violet eyes. “You think so?”

Steve grinned. “Speaking of things going around, do you have any more fish?”

Alex tossed a smoked fish at him. “You never change, do you?”

Silence fell. The four watched the flickering blue flames under the calm night sky. Torches twinkled below, trying to keep hostile mobs from spawning nearby.

Steve took out a note block and began to play a melody. It was Alex’s favorite, a lilting tune of mystery, adventure, and quiet friendship.

Bardick gave a start. Steve, where did you learn that song?

Steve stopped. “What?”

How do you know that song?

Alex stared at Steve and Bardick. Steve glanced at her. “Bardick’s asking where we heard this song.”

Alex cocked her head. “I’ve only ever heard you play it, Steve.”

“Well, then I guess I made it up,” said Steve. “Honestly, I don’t remember.”

Bardick’s eyes narrowed. No, Steve. You didn’t make it up. The Ancient Builders used to play that song. Bardick stared into the blue flames. We used to gather in the evenings. Share stories. Sing songs around the campfire.

“There are words to the song?” asked Steve excitedly. “Can you sing it for us?”

Bardick stared at Steve. I can’t. Not anymore.

Steve closed his mouth. What was he thinking? Zombies couldn’t talk, let alone sing. Steve wrapped his arms around his knees.

You must really miss being you again, Steve told Bardick quietly.

I do, said Bardick. More than you can imagine.

---

Alex rolled over on her bed. The horizon was faintly lit, the hour before dawn. Alex sat up, wondering what had awakened her.

Bardick was still standing under his tree. He cast a glance at her, then returned to staring into the distance with his green arms straight out in front of him.

Alex let out a breath. She didn’t think she would ever get used to a zombie being in their group. Usually it was just her and Steve going on wild expeditions, searching for loot and exploring ruins.

She glanced at the other beds. Both Steve’s and Reganor’s beds were empty.

Alex arched her eyebrow in confusion. She tiptoed away from Bardick and headed into the forest.

Alex held her sword loosely in her hand. Hostile mobs like zombies and skeletons were prone to attack in the darkness. Alex crept over a hill.

Steve’s silhouette sat on the clifftop, staring out at the horizon. Alex put away her sword, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Steve.

Her friend’s face was deep in thought. He sat slouched, his chin resting on his knee. Steve looked tired…and much older.

Alex wondered what was bothering him. The Steve she knew could laugh, joke, and make witty remarks in every situation.

A smile lifted Alex’s mouth. Life would be boring without Steve, that troublemaker.

She slowly walked up behind him. “Steve, please don’t tell me you stayed up all night.” Alex sat down on the cliff edge next to Steve. “Are you trying to summon phantoms?”

Steve gave her a small smile. “Let’s go with that.” He stared at the forest far below them. Movements flashed among the trees. Giant spiders, pale green creepers, zombies…

Monsters were such a familiar sight, they weren’t that frightening anymore.

Steve sighed. “Do you ever wonder why this world is so messed up, Alex?”

Alex cocked her head. “I don’t think it’s messed up. I mean, the world is broken, sure, but things could be a lot worse.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m just happy with my lot.”

“But what about Bardick?” asked Steve. “And all the other Ancient Builders who got infected with Herobrine’s zombie plague. They didn’t deserve that.”

Steve threw a cobblestone item down the cliff. Alex watched it fall.

“Even Bardick is lucky,” said Steve. “He can still remember his past. Most zombies have no idea they used to be people.”

He stared into space. “They don’t remember who they were.”

Alex looked at Steve suspiciously. “Okay, something’s bothering you. What did Bardick tell you last night?”

Steve blinked. “Hmm? He said he missed singing.”

Alex sighed. “Besides that.”

Steve looked away. “I don’t know…”

“Steve—”

“Alex, stop! I don’t need Bardick to tell me. I can see it myself!” Steve spread out his hands. “Has it ever bothered you that I look exactly like a zombie except not green? Has it ever bothered you that I look exactly like Herobrine? Has it ever bothered you that I don’t know why?”

Alex looked at Steve’s face, lit by the anxious morning sunbeams. She took his arms and lowered them.

“No, it doesn’t bother me, Steve. I don’t care what you look like.” Alex nudged him good-naturedly. “Because I already know who you are.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Steve fell quiet. The two gazed at the rising sun. Alex felt Steve’s warm arm go around her. She blinked in surprise. This was new.

The square sun chased away the darkness as the two sat side by side on the clifftop.

Steve gave a start and quickly withdrew his arm.

“I’m sorry—” Steve stood. “Um, are you cold? That’s probably why we were…” He cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Well, anyway, let’s head back and build a campfire.” Steve turned and walked toward their camp.

Alex watched him leave. She rubbed her arms. Yes, now it was cold.

---

Chapter 3

The Warden Master clutched his magic staff. A blade glowed at the staff’s end. A small light in the snowy darkness of the ice spikes.

The iceologers led the way onto a frozen lake. They were a quiet group of illagers. Most Builders didn’t know the iceologers existed.

The Warden Master tried not to shiver in the cold. No weakness was allowed.

“The iceologers found it trapped in the ice,” the leader of the Illager Empire was telling him. Kiran was his name, an evoker too proud of his magic abilities.

“It’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen,” he continued.

“It had better be worth my time,” the Warden Master said.

“Speaking of time, it’s about time we invaded the sculk dimension.” Kiran glared out into the snowy landscape. “When are you going to finish raising that warden army of yours?”

The Warden Master frowned. His alliance with the illagers had been a hasty decision.

“Patience, Kiran,” said the Warden Master. “There’s a Builder who figured out how to release the hypnotized wardens from my command. I have to deal with him first.”

Kiran scoffed. “You don’t have to tell me twice. A single Builder can cause an infinite amount of trouble. They think they own the world.”

“Come now, we’re not all that bad.” The Warden Master smirked.

Kiran ignored him. “At least now we’ve gotten rid of the prisoner. Maybe those Builders won’t bother us anymore.”

“Are you speaking of Steve and Alex?” said the Warden Master. “Oh, they’ll bother you. They got their friend back, but I believe they’re after your allays next. They want to return the creatures to their wardens.”

Kiran scowled. “Now you’re telling me? Then what was the point of letting the Builders get away?”

“You know very well why.” The Warden Master’s eyebrows set. “Our little prisoner won’t dare break his promise. Next time the Builders strike, we will know exactly when and where. And your whole army will be there to greet them.”

Kiran glanced at the quiet iceologers who were still leading them through the blizzard.

“You have an awful lack of faith in us illagers,” he told the Warden Master wryly. “You think it takes every pillager, vindicator, iceologer, and evoker to stop three measly Builders?”

The Warden Master laughed. “You said it yourself, Kiran. A single Builder can cause an infinite amount of trouble.”

Kiran’s eyes narrowed. “After our armies take over the sculk dimension, we’ll see who can cause more trouble.”

The Warden Master scoffed, but didn’t reply. He knew the evoker was after the allays and sculk fangs in the sculk dimension. But he didn’t think a couple more vexes and evoker fangs would be a problem. After all, he was the one who would get the warden army.

But what if the Illager Empire did get too much power? What if they got it into their little heads to rebel…?

The iceologers grunted and stopped.

“We’re here,” said Kiran.

The Warden Master raised his eyes. The huge crown of an iceberg jutted out of the water. Barely visible through the veins of white ice was the silhouette of an ancient warden.

This beastly warden was much larger than the others the Warden Master had enslaved.

Four tendril ears sprouted from the mutant warden’s head. Bony spikes jutted from his shoulders. And perhaps it was his imagination, but the warden’s five frozen hearts pulsed with a blue glow.

The same blue glow as the Warden Master’s swordstaff. He smirked.

“Your iceologers were right, Kiran,” said the Warden Master. “This warden will be a useful addition to my army.”

The iceologers grunted. The Warden Master sighed in impatience. They were sending telepathy messages to their leader and excluding him again.

“That’s not why the iceologers showed us this,” Kiran said. “The mutant warden is still alive in there. If the iceberg cracks, the monster will ravage the iceologers’ home. The iceologers want to enlarge the iceberg and trap the mutant warden deeper inside it.”

The Warden Master scoffed. “I thought you illagers were braver than your Villager counterparts. With this mutant warden under my command, we will strike fear into the heart of any Builder.”

He turned to Kiran. “Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that why we are allies?”

Kiran narrowed his eyes. “The last time I allied with one of you Builders, a whole tribe of illagers were wiped out. I’m not putting the iceologers in danger just so you can get more power.”

Kiran turned to the iceologers. “I will summon the ravagers and the vindicators. They will help you harvest packed ice from the ice spikes and haul it over here. Then you can merge the ice chunks with the iceberg.”

The Warden Master stroked his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at the mutant warden. It was such a shame. A valuable asset set to waste away within an iceberg.

He lifted his glowing sword. The ice refracted the light. The mutant warden was frozen in an eternal roar.

What was there to lose? If he succeeded, the Warden Master would have a powerful slave. If the mutant warden escaped, well…it was the problem of the Illagers.

Maybe the mutant warden could weaken the Illager Empire for him. Crush any thought Kiran might have of a future revolt.