Chapter Text
It had been three years.
Actually, scratch that. Three years and a month.
Three years and a month since what, you may ask?
Since he'd last talked to him.
He'd long moved on from his old best friend, the person he thought he could trust with his life. But once he'd found out the extent to which he'd been lying to him, he'd just seen red.
He'd left, not looking back, never returning.
That was, until today.
See, Mapicc had made a new friend in the time since. A rather unlikely one at that.
After all that drama had gone down, Mapicc had gone to the only person who was honest with him. JamatoP. Things had been tense at first, but over time they'd managed to warm up to each other. They'd never been able to recreate the closeness Mapicc had had with him, but he didn't mind. It was fun running around the server, meeting new people and discovering new places.
One day, Jamato had asked him for a favour. Being the great friend he was, Mapicc agreed.
His friend had asked him to retrieve some items from a faraway stash and to bring it back, and reluctantly Mapicc had agreed.
That was why he had to return.
Return to where, you might also ask?
The Farlands.
Mapicc had avoided that place like the plague for three years and one month, but that changed today. He would return to The Farlands, just for a little, to get some resources. No other reasons.
He'd been travelling for days now.
Mapicc's heavy netherite armour weighed down on his shoulders, which were slumped from exhaustion. His feet were sore and blistered, his legs shaking like leaves with every step he took through the monotonous landscape. Dirt crunched under his feet as he traipsed along, through red plains and blue, through unimaginable amalgamations of stone. He took no breaks, just stepped and stepped and stepped.
Just then, a familiar structure on the horizon caught his eye.
No.
No.
It was the maze.
Mapicc felt bile rise in his throat thinking back on what had gone down in that maze. He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to forget any of it had ever happened and move on with his life.
As hard as he tried to push those memories to the back of his mind, he found that he simply couldn't. Mapicc hesitated, debating his next move.
Keep them buried.
Don't let them come back.
It's not worth it. Your life is fine as it is.
Yet, he found himself staggering towards the maze, unable to pull himself away.
Step.
Mapicc wondered where he had gone after he'd saw him last.
Step.
How was he?
Step.
He probably wouldn't find anything worth noting in the maze. No harm in looking anyways though, right?
Step. Step. Step.
Before he knew it, he had arrived by the white gates of the maze. The structure still stood, tall and impressive, but Mapicc noticed a couple holes in the stone walls. It had aged well, elegant, not crumbled.
Placing a tentative hand on the wall of the maze, he peered inside.
There wasn't much to see, just some disturbances in the dirt. And...
His gaze drifted up.
No.
No.
The cobwebs.
They were the same cobwebs he had used during the fight, Mapicc could recognise that. They'd obviously changed with time, some parts having long since disintegrated whilst others had been expanded on, but he knew those cobwebs when he saw them. They'd been living in his mind for the past three years and one month, very much against his will.
Alright, that was enough maze exploring. Time to leave and come back never.
Step. Step. Step.
He tried to fight it, he did, but his legs just refused to listen. He took several cautious steps into the maze, holding up his shield as he did, before he relaxed. The maze was millions of blocks out from Spawn. It was incredibly unlikely that anyone had been here in the last three years and one month.
Lowering his guard, Mapicc began to explore. He marvelled at the durability of the maze, and how untouched it looked from the last time he had been there.
Then, he stopped dead in his tracks. He squinted.
There was an inscription on the wall.
That had not been there the last time.
It had been weathered away by the elements, but Mapicc was just barely able to make out what the inscription said.
Day 50. Life sucks.
If Mapicc could have froze even more, he would've.
Someone could be in here with him.
Brushing his worries aside in favour of his curiosity, Mapicc continued exploring.
Day 99. I miss him. Life still sucks.
Day 546. Everything hurts.
Day 872. Who even am I anymore?
As he walked on, Mapicc continued to read. He watched someone's sanity being chipped away before his very eyes, all through some carvings in a wall.
Day 1131. No one loves me anymore. I'm all alone.
At that moment, a strange sound caught his ears.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
It didn't sound too far away. In fact, it sounded pretty close.
He followed the source of the noise, making detours where the maze deviated from the path until the sound was so loud that Mapicc was sure whatever...or whoever was making it was just around the corner.
His demon tail twitched in uncontained anticipation.
He stepped out from behind the wall.
His jaw dropped to the floor.