Chapter Text
The sun rose above the horizon, animals carelessly grazing around and the untouched world moved slowly, rhythmically; just like every single Minecraft day. A carefully-painted picture, a flawless canvas sewn together piece by piece like a puzzle; every single digit of code like a thread connecting and intertwining to create this perfect little world of peace and serenity. Soon after, though, a single chat message appears in the corner of a small rectangular screen; slowly, almost invisible to the unsuspecting eye:
Cadence has joined the game.
A player has joined - quietly, calmly. She looked around herself, taking in the comforting silence of the meadows spread in front of her. Her eyes darted around; from the nearby herd of horses her gaze lowered to herself, her own character, as if she felt like she didn't belong in that perfect little world, as if she was interrupting a life that was going on for years on end, at its own pace, on its own way.
The horses looked back. The sheep approached her, the cows greeted her with a soft moo. The bees in the distance rose from the flowers, and a very unfitting muffled voice echoed just behind her:
“Hello?... Hello, anybody there?...”
Her head snapped back, as if ready to fight to protect this life that she had just joined, albeit uninvited. A box found its way in front of her, bouncing around, just barely keeping its contents inside from jumping and escaping its walls. She crouched, slowly, and barely touched the cardboard box before watching it rise above the ground to reveal…
A yellow ball?
In a… block world?
The player took a step back, taking in the scene in front of her eyes. The ball fell to the ground with a thud, gently bouncing around as its little face squirmed in discomfort. A smile quickly emerged, and a joyful voice broke the quite awkward silence hanging around.
“Hellooo, I’m Verity! Your personal helper friend. Ask me anything, I know everything!”
She looked at him in disbelief, the little eyes that were looking directly at her, expecting an answer. Those eyes that seemed to show such happiness, such ecstatic expectancy of reciprocated glee. The eyes that, at the same time, somehow had a slight shadow beneath them; one that you don’t notice immediately. One that kind of blends in, until it grows ever so slightly darker, failing to hide a secret just underneath all of that overwhelming light. Those eyes that seemed to have seen so many unsettling scenes, witnessed many tragic moments, met so many others that somehow created a story; much deeper and more complex than what they are choosing to reveal.
…Or, she was just thinking too much of it. It’s a ball with a smile, after all.
But, she couldn’t deny it, he was absolutely adorable. Her shoulders relaxed as she smiled back at her new yellow friend.
“Hi, Verity! Nice to meet you, buddy.” She started, crouching to carefully inspect the new guest.
“Nice to meet you too, Cadence!” The yellow ball, or Verity, to call it by its name, exclaimed just as happily as before.
“Oh, you can just call me Cadie. I have to admit, you’re really cute,” The player said, playfully patting his little head.
“Awwh, thank you, Cadie! I appreciate your compliment! I’m here if you need help with anything!”
How is he so… happy? Well, at least that makes one of us.
“That’s really nice of you, buddy. So, you will keep me company from now on?” She stood up, the smile on her face never leaving.
“Yyyup! Think of me as your own personal assistant. Remember, I know everything, ha-ha!” Verity chuckled, almost as if he was proud of himself and his infinite knowledge that he had claimed to have.
“I trust you on that one, buddy. Should we go and grab some materials together?” Cadie gestured with her hand, beckoning the yellow ball to jump on her arm.
“Of course! There are plenty of trees in the forest to your left, as well as a great cave 45 blocks north of it!” Verity jumped on her hand and climbed his way onto her shoulder.
The pair made their way across the field to the nearby forest, accompanied with small talk by a yellow ball and quite an amused player. The inhabitants of the plains watched as they walked, mouths full of grass and heads full of curiosity on this unique duo.
“So, tell me more about yourself, Verity,” Cadie began, placing her friend on the ground before slowly chopping down some oak trees.
“Ah well, I am your new friend that can help you when you have questions regarding.. pretty much anything!” Verity said. “That’s my main job, really.”
“I think I got that part, bud,” She laughed. “I mean, like, who are you? Where are you from? And… why me, of all players?”
Verity took a second, an unreadable look on his face.
“I was created to.. help, so to say. Minecraft.. is not my birthplace, that's for sure. But it’s definitely a place that I enjoy coming back to. That I enjoy spending time in. It’s where I feel.. most comfortable with people. As for your last question.. I help everyone. Maybe some earlier, some later, but I can assure you that I will help every player in this world!”
His voice began low, grounded; and as his answer was coming to an end, he seemed to have remembered the joy he was so filled with at the beginning of their story. Cadie seemed to have picked up on the immediate shift in the air, and she would have stopped questioning him at that point, but something kept whispering in her ear, a voice she didn’t dare to silence in her mind.
So, she kept asking.
“Oh, I get it now. I can imagine how interesting it is to see so many different people and personalities every day,” she finished crafting some wooden tools. “Do you have any favourite people you have helped before? Other friends, maybe?”
Silence engulfed them, and she almost didn’t dare to look at Verity’s face. It was not smiling brightly anymore like before; it was sulking.
Damn it, way to make the happiest guy sad like that. Good job, Cadence.
“Yeah. It is interesting. I don’t… I’m not really here to make friends. I never had any friends.
Except… one.
But, he ended up leaving, too.
…
And it was my fault.”
Cadie’s heart sank, a lump finding its way into her throat. She felt horrible for making the little guy sad like that, but she knew- no, she felt- that there was more to the story than what he was letting on.
But, it was not the right time. She doesn’t know if there will be one at all, but she knows for sure that it’s not right now.
“Okay buddy, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she carefully crouched beside him. “I’m sorry for bringing it up. Let’s focus on more positive things, shall we?”
“Okay, sounds good!” As if pressing a button, a smile appeared on his face as his usual joyful tone came back in an instant. Cadie felt a weight that had fallen off of her chest, but she still knew that that was only the tip of the iceberg that Verity was.
The pair made their way inside a deep cave nearby, following the cold stone walls as a distant sound of dripping water resonated somewhere behind them. Cadie was walking slowly, a flashlight in her hand, and Verity on her shoulder guiding her to any close iron veins. She glanced at the walls around her, almost as if they were too close, as if they were engulfing her deeper into the darkness. She hasn’t realized just how silent it was, how empty the caves seemed to be, even with all of the mobs that were guarding their underground home. Her mind started racing, a bit too far for her to admit, until Verity’s voice woke her back up from her wander.
“Cadie?”
“Yeah, I’m here, sorry Verity.” She brushed it off quickly, mining away the last bits of iron ore in front of her.
“Oh, I just wanted to let you know that your stone pickaxe broke and that you are punching the iron with your fist right now. You have enough iron to create a much better pickaxe, though!”
She looked down at her hand, a bewildered look on her face as if somebody else had taken the pickaxe out of her inventory.
When did I?... I’m a dumbass.
She was silent for a beat, until she spoke again.
“Oh, thank you Verity! You’re amazing, buddy,” she said as she crafted a furnace and put the newfound iron and coal to smelt away.
“Ah, you’re too kind! No problem!” Verity jumped back down on the ground. “By the way, there is an opening just down this hallway leading to the main cave that holds plenty of diamonds!”
“I’m hearing a lot of mobs from down there. Sounds like fun, I like a good challenge!”
“Yeah. Mobs...” Verity seemed to have gotten lost in his thoughts.
They continued down deeper into the cave, the dark abyss-like opening growing in front of them. Cadie approached the edge of the hallway, noticing the quite significant drop down to deepslate level. With Verity on her shoulder, she jumped down, landing in water she placed a single tick before her feet touched the ground.
“Seems like you like taking risks,” Verity noticed.
“I don’t have anything to lose. So, why not?” Cadie answered.
“I see. There is a diamond vein 17 blocks to your left, by the way!”
“Oh, thanks Verity! I almost walked past them.”
With her new iron pickaxe she made just minutes ago, Cadie started gathering the pile of diamonds. Just as she mined the last piece, she heard footsteps grow louder behind her.
“Be careful, there is a creeper behind you!”
By the time she had turned around, the hissing became more prominent, the green mob flashing white. Knowing she didn’t have time to do anything else, she put up her shield Verity told her to make some time ago, letting the creeper explode…
Just above her diamonds.
“...”
“Seems like the creeper blew up your diamonds.”
“Oh, really? Thanks for letting me know, buddy. I didn’t notice.”
“You’re welcome!”
Cadie couldn’t help but laugh.
The silence was a little bit less deafening with Verity by her side; like a voice always there to keep her mind occupied. A friend that managed to make her smile from time to time. At least, more often than she did before. The voices in her head grew a bit quieter, they became just a little less tiring. The days didn’t stretch out into nothingness, day and night merging into one so much that she couldn’t differentiate the darkness and the light anymore. Now, she woke up with the sunrays and fell asleep with the moonlight, and she would almost feel peaceful doing so.
...Almost.
They managed to bond a little bit through their exploration and adventure. Cadie never let her guard down completely; however, she noticed that Verity didn’t either. Both of them held a part of their story close to their hearts, their answers never completely truthful; and that was one of the bigger reasons they somehow grew closer. A kind of… silent understanding.
It wasn’t trust quite yet, no. But rather.. a kind of recognition.
With Verity, it was different.
Different than before.
“What do you think about this place, Verity? We have a great view of the sunset here, too,” Cadie placed Verity down on the vast flower meadow on the hill they found together.
“It’s beautiful, Cadie! The sunrise will be greatly visible from here, as well!” Verity exclaimed.
“You’re right,” Cadie started settling down. “I think I will build our house here. Do you have any style that you prefer?”
“Anything you like, I like too, Cadie. You have great taste!”
“...Thank you, buddy. Let’s build this house, shall we?”
Cadie grabbed some materials for the house on their way to the hill, remnants of the places they visited on their travel. The flower field stretched far, cutting off at the horizon giving the perfect view of the sunsets each day. She had a small cottage in mind, something peaceful, not too disturbing or loud to the world she so wanted to protect with her whole heart.
It’s the only thing she has.
It’s something she felt like she needed to do. Her duty to exist silently, to go unnoticed by the life living in their own home, their own world. Just another player that comes and goes, leaving their small traces behind, never to be seen by anyone ever again.
Just another player that wants change in the world they never got permission to enter from the start.
Just another player that’s blinded by themselves to notice what makes them them.
Just another player that races to reach the finish line, no matter what happens behind them or what they do on the way. Even if the race isn’t against anyone, but their own character.
She doesn’t want to be that player. Not after-
…
Not if she has a choice.
She didn’t, however, forget to include a little room in their cottage for Verity as well.
Log by log, plank by plank, she was close to finishing their little home when Verity asked her a rather simple question.
“I’ve noticed we ran past many villages on our way here; however, you never entered any of them. You didn’t even bat an eye. May I ask why that is?”
She turned to Verity from the other side of the room where she was putting in windows for the house, a kind of puzzled expression on her face.
“Why are you asking me that, buddy?” she chuckled. “I didn’t need them. I’m not here to speedrun enchants and gear; this is a slow world, and I’m just taking part in it, slowly, as well.”
“Oh, well, I thought you would explore and maybe say hi to some villagers,” Verity’s voice became a bit quieter, with a slight confused tone to it. “You would be shocked by how many people decide to build their homes close to villages just for… the company, rather than benefit.”
“Company?” Cadie fully turned to face him. She waited a beat before answering.
“...I guess having a loud village nearby kills the quiet sometimes. I enjoy the peaceful ambience, though. Plus, I have you. That’s enough for me.”
She continued to place glass in the openings of the walls, as silence was felt from Verity’s end. It seemed like forever until the yellow companion spoke, a voice soft and almost vulnerable; emotions deeper than what he had ever shown before.
“...Really?” his voice was almost like a whisper. “You… mean it?”
Cadie froze for a second.
“...Yes, buddy.” Storing the leftover glass in her inventory, she approached Verity, slowly, and crouched in front of him. “I promise I do.”
His face never changed, like a mask covering what his voice, albeit accidentally, revealed. A kind of wistful tone his words were laced with, a kind of unreachable answer to what he meant.
To what he was.
“...They never keep their promises...”
“Well, I promise that I will keep my promise.”
“...They always say that.”
“...Can you trust me, Verity?”
“...
…I wish I could try.”
The silence was engulfing, suffocating. Cadie couldn’t look away from Verity, her chest so tight, her heart beating in her throat. Slight shivers travelled down her spine, her mind racing with questions she didn’t dare to say out loud. Her mouth opened, yet nothing came out.
“But I can’t. Sorry, Cadie.”
Every word echoed in her ears, pulsating in her head like beats of a metronome on a steady Andante. Frozen in place, she felt her breaths becoming more shallow, stinging in her chest.
“It’s alright, Verity. I understand.”
She took a deep breath this time, her voiced woven with calmness as she gathered pieces of her mind together. She knew that something was going on in Verity’s head, she could sense the slightly off energy his voice showed.
But, at the same time, she could hear a sort of grief, a revenge-driven tone that just barely escaped the confines of his voice.
She didn’t know Verity; who, or what he was. She was just grasping the bits and pieces of him that he revealed to her, be it purposefully or accidentaly. He wasn’t a friend, but he wasn’t a foe either.
But something was pulling her closer, telling her that maybe understanding was better than avoidance.
“I’m about to go make us a farm, buddy. Do you want to join me?”
“I would love to, Cadie!”
And just like that, he was back, like nothing had ever happened. As concerning as some may percieve it, Cadie enjoyed it. The tension would release just enough, and the awkward silence would be filled with normal speech again. She didn’t like dwelling on sensitive topics too much. It would usually bring out the worst in her if focused on for too long.
Not that she would get mad or yell; should would just say things she doesn’t mean in a wave of anxiety, making the situation she is put in worse.
And that never ended well.
“Did you know that crops grow faster if you separate them in rows? You should definitely try first putting wheat seeds in one row, and then potatoes in the next. You’ll soon see magic happen!”
“Really? That’s kind of genius, actually. Thanks for the tip, buddy! We will have food for days,” Cadie laughed. “Say, what’s your favourite food? If you have one, that is.”
“Well, I don’t really eat, haha,” Verity chuckled. “But if I had to pick, I do like golden carrots. They’re yellow, like me!”
“Ah, the best food in the game for the best little assistant, I see,” Cadie opened her nearby chest to plant some carrots she got from killing zombies. “I’ll make sure to plant extra for you!”
“That’s… so nice of you, Cadie,” Verity said. “Thank you. …Maybe you really are different from them.”
...Is he telling the truth?
“Well, if we want golden carrots, we will need gold,” Cadie turned to him. “Do you think we should pay the Nether a visit or go classic and mine in the caves? I’m feeling like stealing the gold from the bastions, honestly.”
“Seems like you are up for an adventure! I agree with your decision. You should make some golden armour the moment you get your hands on enough gold, though,” Verity exclaimed.
“Nah, I’m going there just for the gold blocks; I’ll raw-dog it,” Cadie put Verity on her shoulder. “Let’s find a lava pool and make a portal. Hopefully they don’t steal you from me thinking you’re golden, haha.”
They managed to find a huge lava lake fairly close to their home. Cadie speed-built the portal and, upon entering the eerie dimension, the pair found themselves on a floating island in the middle of a vast lava ocean.
“What is this trash-ass spawn, bro-”
The low hum in the air ever-so-slightly vibrated in their ribcage, quiet popping of the molten rock beneath them threatening to swallow them whole. There was no land in sight; the crimson horizon seemed to have stretched infinitely to the naked eye.
“Hm… we’re quite in a pickle, aren’t we?” Verity spoke, trying to lighten the mood.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Cadie laughed. “Do you know if there is any land close by? At least, close enough to bridge to?”
“Well, the nearest land would be 179 blocks on the southwest,” Verity explained. “You will have to bridge upwards, though. It’s 58 blocks above us.”
“Doable enough,” Cadie shrugged. “I’m pretty confident in my speed-bridging abilities. Do you reckon I should try speed-bridging an ascending staircase?”
“Quite a brave choice to do that, Cadie,” Verity chuckled. “You could try, but I would advise you to be careful, since we are directly above lava. The height alone would take 4 and a half hearts if you fell.”
“You only live once, right?” Cadie exclaimed. “Let’s go.”
Cadie actually managed to speed-bridge quite far, given the situation where she had to do it while staircasing. She was silent, completely focused and seemed to have reached her own rhythm of moving and placing blocks. Verity was quiet the whole time, as well, so as to not interrupt her flow and be the reason for both of their ultimate demise. The only other threat in that moment would have been ghasts; however, their calls were not heard on the pair’s end, giving them a peace of mind at least for right now.
They reached quite the distance, until Cadie accidentally released her sneak far too late, and in a split second started falling down and closing the gap between her and the lava. However, in that one moment of panic where she had time for only one decision, she threw Verity on the staircase so that he didn’t go down with her.
Well, GG, I guess.
Having a rough landing in the molten rock, she noticed that she wasn’t taking any damage from the actual fire.
Fire res?... What?...
Looking up, in the distance where the remnant of her staircase was, a little yellow smile was looking down on her.
“I was waiting for this moment,” Verity shouted from above, playful tone in his voice.
“Shut up…” Cadie sighed, though with a smile. “I’m coming back up.”
“You have to admit, I was on a roll before I misclicked,” she said after she reunited with him.
“You were, I can’t lie,” Verity said. “But, if it wasn’t for the fire resistance I gave you, you would’ve been burnt to a crisp by now!”
"You’re right; thanks, bud. I owe you one, haha.”
“Actually… I was the one who owed you one. That's why I gave you the fire resistance.”
“...Why?”
“You saved me from the lava.”
“...Oh. I guess it was my first instinct.”
“...You still have 26 more blocks until you reach the right height; after that, you can just continue bridging normally!” Verity exclaimed, yet again.
“That’s good!” Cadie exhaled in relief. “Safe to say, I won’t be speed-bridging that.”
“Slow and steady wins the race, as they say,” Verity jumped on her shoulder.
The pure joy Cadie felt when she finally saw land was definitely something to witness.
“Oh. My. God. If I ever decide to bridge again, throw those blocks out my hand and tell me to get a life,” she jumped on the netherrack island, turning around to look at her comically long bridge. “Look at it, that’s insane! That motherfucker is stretching into the sunset!”
“There is no sun in the Nether,” Verity chuckled.
“Don’t rage-bait me, buddy.”
"Just saying.”
“Don’t say.”
The pair walked across the nether grounds, fire crinkling all around them. They had found a fortress way before a bastion; however, Cadie wasn’t feeling like dealing with wither skeletons and blazes. As they navigated through some tight caves and ravines, they had finally caught a glimpse of the blackstone bricks. Verity could’ve easily found them a bastion with little to no hassle, but Cadie decided to explore the place a bit more freely.
“It's a treasure bastion!” Verity exclaimed with joy.
“Buddy, you sound like you just revealed the gender of the bastion,” Cadie chuckled. “Alright, let's steal that gold.”
She decided to dig into the side of the building to minimize any contact with the brutes, knowing one swing of their axe would send them straight across dimensions (literally). Manoeuvring her way through the blackstone walls, one thing caught her attention.
“It’s way too quiet.”
And as she broke the final two blocks, making her own entrance to the treasure bastion remnant, she had a sight to see:
Empty. Completely empty.
No piglins, no brutes. Magma spawners were shimmering alone, with no magma around them.
“Where… are the problems? Where is the chaos?”
“They’re gone.”
She turned to Verity, who looked a bit... off.
"Gone? Where did they go, Walmart? What do you mean gone?"
"Gone."