Chapter Text
"YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!" Spoke roared, slamming his fists on the table. Minutetech shook his head. "Spoke, I've already decided. I'm sending you down to Earth, where you'll hopefully learn to live as normal players do. This whole God-thing has been getting to your head. I just want what's best for you." The elder voilding voiced in sympathy, glancing back at the other three boys, who were sitting at the table nervously, afraid they too would be cast down.
Spoke's frown twisted into a shaky smile. "So what? You're just going to send me down with none of my exploits?! What if I DIE, Minute? You're going to be okay with watching me DIE, just so you can prove your point?" By this point, Minute was tired of arguing with Spoke. In a flash, Minute snapped his fingers and sent the younger voidling crashing down to the floor.
Three heads peered over to where Spoke was lying, unconscious. "Is he alright?" Wemmbu whispered, concerned. "I hope so…" Parrot half-whispered back. Before Flame could get a word out, Minute scooped up Spoke from the floor and walked over to the balcony of the room. The man snapped his fingers, and a swirly slide leading down appeared.
Noticing the three brothers' nervousness, he explained, "Do not worry for Spoke; he'll be alright. I've already chosen where this slide will lead him. He'll be in good hands." Minute watched as the trio's shoulders slumped in relief. What he hadn't mentioned was their involvement in Spoke's journey back.
Mapicc groaned in frustration as he looked at his messy to-do list. The post it note was currently nailed to the red wall using an enchanted diamond axe to hold it up. Today was the day Mapicc had to go into the Prince Zam empire and buy groceries. The nether-born despised doing this as the nation, who claims to be godless, is filled with the God FlameFrag's followers.
Though Mapicc was never much of a devotee to the Gods, he did sometimes light an offering or two when he needed something done. Sometimes it'd work; often times it wouldn't, but it was worth the shot at least.
However, compared to him, the people located in the Prince Zam Empire were madmen when it came to honoring FlameFrags. If Mapicc had to guess why, it would be because FlameFrags had spent several years working under Prince Zam as his most skilled knight. To repay for his loyalty to the empire, the people began to worship him under the impression the god would protect them. Whether or not it worked was unknown to Mapicc; he never bothered to learn of the empire's old tales, opting to just head in and out when he was in need of materials.
Placing all his necessities into his bag, Mapicc slung the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed his sword, and headed outside. The journey to the kingdom wasn't a difficult one; Mapicc could easily put on his elytra and fly over, but he chose not to. His reasoning for this was that he enjoyed the walk over; it gave him time to mentally prepare himself for the people who resided there.
As he walked, Mapicc's mind began to wander towards the topic of the four gods. Though Mapicc didn't know much about them and their origins, he was aware of each of their defining characteristics. Each god represented a positive and negative trait players often possess. ParrotX2 depicts ambition and greed, FlameFrags embodies bravery and pride, Wemmbu portrays perseverance and wrath, and lastly, SpokeIsHere symbolizes determination, chaos, and deceit.
Why the gods stood for what they did was information Mapicc did not possess; he would often zone out whenever they explained the topic at school. All he knew was that people would take the subject extremely seriously. Some vendors in the Zam kingdom out right refusing to serve anyone who expressed that they were affiliated with the god Wemmbu.
A sudden blaring of trumpets snapped Mapicc out of his thoughts; he sighed as he realized he was edging closer to the dreaded empire. Twigs and leaves crunched underneath his feet as he stepped closer to the boarding dock. The empire was built near a large body of water, making it extremely difficult to cross if you did not have a boat. Luckily for Mapicc, Prince Zam had just opened up the kingdom's gates to visitors, making it a lot easier to come and go.
Stepping closer to the boat, Mapicc took out five dollars and handed it to the ticket agent, who accepted the money and returned a ticket. The demon continued walking, admiring the slow crash of the ocean waves against the boarding dock. As he reached his destined boat, Mapicc scanned the area. Few people were mounting the same ship as him. If the hybrid had to guess, he would estimate about nine other people.
The line slowly progressed, each person handing their boarding pass to the ticket taker. As Mapicc moved along, he began to admire the boat's structure. Before him stood three fifty-foot-tall sails, two smaller ones located at the front and back of them. The sailors' headquarters were located at the very front and top of the ship, giving them a perfect view of where they were headed.
Handing his ticket to the fare collector, Mapicc stepped aboard. He navigated his way to the hold, where he found his temporary room. Although the trip to the Prince Zam Empire was no more than five hours, the general boarding ticket still included access to a room, which the demon was grateful for.
The room was decorated nicely. Pressed up to the side of the room was a twin-sized bed, a camo pattern bedding lay atop. Strangely, next to the bed was a door leading to the bathroom. It felt cramped, the toilet and shower placed far too close for Mapicc's liking. There was a drawer and a mirror on the opposing side of the room. Not much, but enough.
Mapicc practically threw himself on the bed, sighing in relief as the ache in his limbs loosened a bit. Being a nether-born demon really came in clutch most of the time. Thanks to his genetics or whatever, Mapicc was not just stronger, but a lot more durable than the average person.
Unfortunately, that was all Mapicc knew about his genometics. He had heard rumors, but he tended to ignore them. Mostly because they were always demonizing his species. Mapicc found the people who fell for those lies to be stupid; there was no way people believed nether-borns genuinely drank the blood of babies in order to open the gates to super hell where they would re-unite with the Minecraft devil. It was dumb, and Mapicc refused to entertain those superstitions.
One of Mapicc's few memories from his singular year of grade school involved the relentless bullying from the other kids regarding his horns and tail. "Why are your horns so small!" They would tease, "Are you so bad at being a demon your own horns don't wanna be seen with you?" Mapicc would clench his fists in anger, eyes shut tight, attempting to drown out the annoying high-pitched voices the other kids possessed.
His memories start to blur after that; he faintly remembers being unable to control his anger any further and swinging at one of the bullies. Mapicc recalls the screams, the way his fists seemed to have a mind of their own, coming down and meeting the boy's face with more and more force. The last thing he can remember is the kid's bloodied face and the sting of his knuckles.
The next day, as he stared in the mirror, Mapicc realized something. His horns had grown. They went from being small stubs, resembling those of a baby deer, to something much more similar to that of an antelope. He had also noticed the way both his nails and fangs had grown sharper.
Mapicc was changing. However, it wasn't a natural change. It was the kind of change that could only be achieved after he had committed certain actions. Negative actions.
Swiping at his teachers after they would try to calm him down resulted in a slight growth of his fangs. Getting into fights with different kids led to his horns growing bigger. Mapicc liked every time he would change. He felt like more of a man. Someone capable of defending himself from anyone who dared to step in his way. And sure, it was kind of getting to his head. Mapicc enjoyed the fearful looks the other 5th graders would give him, the hushed whispers students and teachers would give each other when he walked by.
Being a homeless teenager with nothing to lose didn't turn Mapicc back into a saint. The demon would steal, lie, destroy, and fight for money. Each action turned him further into a "monster." Mapicc didn't care, however. He had already accepted the version of himself other people saw him as: a heartless beast who didn't care about anything or anyone.
It wasn't until he hit the age of 18 that Mapicc truly realize the consequences of having such prominent demon features. For instance, whenever Mapicc tried to buy anything from the Zam Empire with his hood down, most vendors would give him a distasteful look and stare intensely at him. Watching his every move, desperately searching for a slight opening to claim the demon was stealing from them.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Mapicc tossed and turned on the small bed. His body refused to give in to sleep, even though it was what he most craved at the moment. The loud blaring of a trumpet caused the nether-born to jump out of the bed. Sighing, Mapicc realized they had finally reached their destination.
Stepping onto the dock was a whole new feeling. Mapicc felt slightly dizzy, his legs and stomach adjusting to the newfound solid ground. He examined the wooden bridge that connected the pier to the kingdom. People from all sorts of places were both entering and exiting, some faces filled with bliss, others with annoyance.
The stone brick wall loomed over Mapicc, casting a huge shadow upon him. Yellow, lined with purple banners, stretched out across the border. A characteristic "Z" stood tall in the middle of them.
Passing the wooden bridge, Mapicc placed his hood over his head. If he could remain anonymous, he would. All he needed was enough food to last him the month and some materials to upgrade his gear. This should be an in-and-out trip, right?
Navigating his way through the kingdom, Mapicc found himself at his first destination. In front of him stood a vegetable stand he frequented; the booth was owned by a sweet old woman who seemed to have taken a liking to Mapicc. Whether it was out of pity was up for debate; all he knew was that it caused him to get a slight discount when purchasing greens.
The nether-born carefully picked out a selection of plants before placing them into a small plastic bag. He walked over to the lady running the stand and paid for his goods. "Have a nice day, sweetie!" She smiled, waving as he walked away. Mapicc enjoyed visiting her; when she didn't have much of a line, he would often find himself chatting with her for an hour or so before she hurriedly shooed him away, afraid she was taking up too much of his time.
As he walked, Mapicc couldn't help but stare at some of the stands. Most were tame; others not so much. Many of the booths contained religious artifacts, statues of mostly FlameFrags, and books containing the origins of how the god ascended. Those were the normal ones; every now and then, Mapicc would stumble upon a darker side of the market. Books detailing how a person could reach godhood as well, crystals said to double your chances of being noticed when praying, and all sorts of bull crap Mapicc personally didn't believe much in.
Simply thinking about it gave Mapicc the heebie-jeebies. Although it wasn't just the Prince Zam Empire that was like this, Mapicc had heard stories of other nations who had a stronger, scarier devotion to the other gods. He had heard a story of a kingdom under Wemmbu that had executed 10 people in a state of delusion, as a sickly five-year-old had sworn the god appeared in his dream and commanded him to do so. Needless to say, it ended up being false, and the nation moved on as if nothing had occurred.
Growing up as an orphan led to Mapicc not pledging his undying devotion to one of the gods. It seemed pointless to him; why did people believe they had to live their lives not for themselves but for the gods? He harbored no ill feelings towards any of the celestial beings; however, Mapicc would be lying if he claimed he had never cursed them under his breath. Nowadays, the demon has grown to understand there are certain issues even deities cannot prevent.
Shaking his head, Mapicc continued moving through the stands, examining each one with careful eyes. Finally, he reached his all-time favorite one, the weapons booth. The stall was owned by a kind yet stern man named Axel; Mapicc could tell the owner really enjoyed running the shop. Adding discounts on certain days, restocking his collection every week, and giving genuine advice to those who asked, Mapicc appreciated the vendor a lot. After all, if it weren't for Axel, Mapicc wouldn't know half as much about combat as he does.
Mapicc stared at the different sets of armor, the enchantments glistening softly. In the end, the brunette settled on buying a new netherite chest plate. His current one was a couple of hits away from breaking, and since it had no mending, he was in need of a new one. Mapicc picked up the piece of armor and walked over to the checkout. He exchanged a quick greeting with Axel before the man rang him up, and Mapicc went on his way.
Finding his way back to the entrance of the Zam Empire was going to be a disaster. After Mapicc's purchase, he realized something. Today, the kingdom was going to be hosting a parade. One that honored all the gods, but mostly FlameFrag's for his protecting of the dominion.
Usually, Mapicc wouldn't mind the parades. In fact, he used to attend them with his old friend, Roshambo. They used to smile and giggle at the poorly made inflatables of the gods. Guessing one would get the creator struck down, and why. The brunette sighed, clearing his head. He didn't want to spend too much time dwelling on the past; if he could forget all about Roshambo, he would.
Pushing his way through the crowd, Mapicc found himself at the front of it all. He watched the parade dancers dance around the inflatables, chanting the names of all 4 deity's. Mapicc's eyes darted to the mob; he watched as families all around him hugged each other, smiled, and laughed at the display. The demon's jaw tightened; must be nice having a family, huh?
He doesn't remember what happened after that, but Mapicc found himself at the entrance to the empire. The brunette stood there for what felt like hours, taking deep, shallow breaths in hopes of stabilizing himself. Realizing he wasn't calming down, Mapicc equipped his elytra and took off.
When Mapicc landed near his base, he noticed something off with the entrance. As he inched closer, he was able to make out a figure lying unconscious at the front. In any other scenario, the demon would've shooed them off. However, something about the person caught his attention. Their outfit was pitch black with accents of rainbow in their bandana, jacket, bracelets, and shorts lining. Even stranger, their skin, as well as their hair, was also black. Mapicc couldn't see them fully; their face was still a mystery.
Any sort of anger Mapicc carried was quickly washed away with a sense of curiosity for the mystery person passed out in his front yard. Carefully, the brunette approached the body; he slowly picked them up bridal style, noting how unnaturally light they felt. Mapicc then walked inside his cave-home and placed them down gently. He stared at the body for a moment, realizing it was too late to back out now. Mapicc would have to deal with them in the morning.
Crafting a new bed, Mapicc placed it in the opposite corner of the room. As he sat, he observed the person currently occupying his other bed. They reminded him of someone; he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Shrugging, Mapicc placed a small yet sharp dagger under his pillow. You can never be too safe, right? As he lay there, sleep slowly began to creep up on him until, finally, taking him completely.