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At this point, Mapicc had been traversing the Underworld for weeks. He was running low on food and his battle injuries couldn’t heal properly. He constantly needed breaks since his exhausted body refused to cooperate.
That’s why he was now sitting on the cold ground, resting his back against a rock, doubting that he could keep going for much longer. He missed seeing the sun even though he had never really appreciated it. All the darkness around him started to get to him and it was probably the main reason why he was losing hope.
In the overworld, as long as he could see where he was going, he’d always tell himself he’d be fine. And if he doubted that, he had his vibrant sun that would guide him whenever he felt hopeless and lost — the careless, stupid but charming voidling that used to stick to his side at all times. At the thought of him, Mapicc’s expression softened and a subtle smile appeared on his face. It was about to fade as the painful realisation hit him but then he heard a child’s laugh — one comparable to a bell chime.
He knew that laugh too well.
“Found you!” a little voidling emerged from the dark, wearing a flower wreath on his head. He was holding a matching one as he got closer to the brunette. “You’re not a very hard guy to catch, you know?”
That laugh, again. Not a malicious one but genuine and playful. Then, he placed the other wreath on Mapicc’s head and grinned from ear to ear upon seeing how well it suited him.
Mapicc hasn't seen Spoke like that for so long…
“It’s your turn now. Count down from 30 and don’t peek!” The voidling was gone as soon as he said that, leaving Mapicc unable to ask any questions.
But he did close his eyes and start counting. Aloud but with a shaky voice since he hasn’t talked in days if not weeks. Why did he decide to go along with that silly game? That’s something even he didn’t know. But did it really matter? He would probably be dead in a couple of hours anyway.
“Fourteen, thirteen,” he continued as he felt a strange presence next to him.
“Mapicc?” someone called out and then he felt a palm pressed against his forehead.
He opened his eyes to see none other than the person who trapped him down here. This time, he was all grown up, wearing netherite armor with trims, carrying a sword and an enchanted totem. That cursed totem…
“Mapicc!” the voidling shouted with relief, pulling the brunette into a tight hug. “I’ll get you out of here. I found the exit! There’s a Citadel east from here, that’s our way out. I’ve already been there and I-”
“What makes you think I want to leave with you?”
Spoke’s heart sank upon hearing these words. He let go of the embrace and moved back slightly.
“It’s not safe down here and I doubt you have enough resources to survive the next few days. You’re just sitting there and not even regenerating properly. How low on food are you?”
“Oh, so now you care. After YOU trapped me down here with almost nothing,” he grunted in annoyance, shifting in place.
“Of course I do care! I came back looking for you, not sure if I’d even find you alive! I could’ve just left after I got to the Citadel but I decided to look for you regardless!”
The demon knew he couldn’t trust Spoke just like that. Not after everything he did. But his thinking was cut short by the voidling grabbing his hand and squeezing it lightly.
“Please, if you don’t want to see me, at least let me get you out of here. And take some food,” he shoved a couple of golden apples into his hands.
Mapicc took a bite of one almost instantly. He needed food and more importantly — regeneration. If it weren’t for Spoke, the last two pieces of bread he had would have sufficed him for a day at most. And then? Just a painful death.
“How far is it?”
“A thousand blocks or so.”
Mapicc nodded as he finished the second apple. Finally his injuries started healing and he was feeling overall stronger.
“Better?” Spoke asked, handing his friend a bit more food. “You’ll need this.”
“Yeah, thanks bro.”
“Did you see any people here?” Spoke asked, taking a seat on the ground as well.
“I did see a voidling that I… might have mistook for you. It gave me this wreath,” the brunette reached up to grab the gift from his head but his hand was just met with a strand of hair.
“Mapicc, you aren’t wearing a wreath.”
“What?” his hand fell down and settled on his knee.
“You were probably hallucinating. I read that’s common after staying here for too long.”
“And whose fault is that…” the demon muttered under his breath, slowly getting up.
Spoke stood up first and reached his hand out to his friend, only to be rejected because Mapicc chose to hold onto a rock for support.
They started walking, Mapicc following Spoke blindly, just like he always used to do. But at some point, he stopped.
“Did you really go searching for me?” he questioned, looking straight into Spoke’s eyes as if looking for the faintest hint of insincerity there.
“I did,” he responded with a short nod.
“Why?”
“I said I would. And I did miss you,” the voidling’s head dropped as he let out a shaky sigh. “You ended up here because of me. It was only right for me to return.”
“Since when did you develop a sense of morality?” he responded with a soft chuckle.
“Mapicc, please… I’m trying to change, for you. You could really go back with me. I have the Null now, they keep me safe, they can keep you safe too.”
“I can keep you safe, too! In fact, I’ve been doing that since the day we met!” Mapicc took a step closer, his tone almost challenging to Spoke.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry for everything!” the voidling took a step back.
“If you really are,” Mapicc sighed with frustration, extending his hand to Spoke, “I’m gonna need that totem of yours.”
“That’s not fair!” Spoke backed away, holding the totem closer to his chest.
“And trapping me down here with almost no food and all the battle injuries I got from fighting for you was fair?” he took another step closer, his tone becoming even more demanding. “Give me the totem.”
“You know I can’t do that!” Spoke took another step back, nearing the edge of a block, right above the void.
“You can. You just need to choose - me or your army?”
“Mapicc…”
It was becoming harder and harder for the brunette to keep persisting. Spoke looked like a hurt puppy above the void and Mapicc never wanted to see him like that. He wanted to see the playful, smiling version of Spoke that he saw when they first met. He missed the grin that involuntarily appeared on the voidling’s face when he trapped someone, when they griefed builds together and escaped the consequences of their actions again and again.
But he needed that totem to help them regain that life.
“You know that’s the very thing that broke our friendship. You know that this is the single item that caused all of this! Choose.”
They just stared at each other in silence for a few seconds until Spoke slowly handed his friend the totem.
“What are you going to do with it?” he asked as he let go of the item.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he quickly responded and continued heading in the direction they were originally supposed to go, his grip tightening around that piece of rubbish he despised so much.
They managed to reach the Citadel, both of them chugging down a lot more golden apples and carrots which completely replenished Mapicc’s energy. Now he could probably even take a fight against a Null Commander and win.
But that wouldn’t be necessary anytime soon or — if everything goes according to the plan - ever again.
A scholar greeted them with a soft smile and led them to the exit without questioning anything. Spoke later explained that he’d already talked to her before he went back for Mapicc.
The staircase seemed endless at first but once they established a walking pace, it wasn’t that bad — both of them had been through worse and were now craving freedom more than anything else, especially Mapic.
They literally flew over the last few stairs and then reached a ladder that led them to the Nether dimension.
They were out.
So now there was only one thing they still needed to take care of.
“Let’s head back. The Null have established a base in the End, I could take you there, it’s probably the safest place for you right now,” Spoke suggested, placing down a couple of shulker boxes to regear.
“The End? I highly doubt Minute would allow this.”
Spoke didn’t want to answer that question so he just kept sorting out his inventory. When he reached for a stack of breeze rods, his wrist was caught and before he could react, Mapicc turned him around, holding him in place. He looked deep into Spoke’s eyes and questioned him again.
“Spoke… What happened to Minute?”
“He’s fine,” Spoke answered, his gaze escaping to the side. He couldn’t bring himself to look his friend in the eyes.
Unluckily for him, Mapicc would force him to do so by grabbing his chin.
“Okay, okay…” Spoke sighed, clearly defeated and took a couple of seconds to think his words through carefully. “He didn’t like the idea of Null taking a quarter of the dimension so we tried taking it by force. Then he destroyed the portal, trying to trap us there but we managed to get enough end crystals to respawn the dragon and free ourselves.”
Upon hearing the explanation, the demon’s hands dropped in disappointment. He sighed heavily and offhanded the enchanted totem that he got from Spoke.
“I’m gonna pop the totem.”
These words hung heavy in the air for a moment. Both of them could only hear each other’s breaths — Spoke’s was uneven and shaky, whereas Mapicc’s was still and rough.
“Mapicc, I don’t want to watch you kill yourself!” the voidling grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him lightly.
“I will not die, Spoke. I just need to pop the totem,” Mapicc tried to reason with his friend, but to no avail.
“I feel like I should be the one to do that. You don’t deserve to get hurt because of me time and time again,” the grip around Mapicc’s shoulders tightened.
“Spoke, bro, I’m done playing your games!” The brunette pushed the other away, causing him to lose balance and fall to his knees. “I’m done with you betraying me! If you plan to do so, just tell me now - I’ll give your damn totem back and I’ll get lost. But if you still care, if you still want to return to the main server with me, just let me destroy the very thing that made you this ruthless monster, undeserving of having friends, that you are today,” he paused, catching his breath, before continuing a bit quieter and calmer than before.
“If there is still even a part of you that wishes you hadn’t done all of that… Just let me fix this, let me do what has to be done in order for you to return to your normal life. You don’t have to look, just close your eyes and let me do everything for you.”
Spoke didn’t respond. He was aware that Mapicc’s crashout was completely reasonable. So why was his friend ready to forgive him that easily? Spoke was still hesitant but Mapicc’s words gave him something he had lacked for a long, long time - comfort and reassurance.
He did become a monster.
He did become unrecognisable.
He did harm his friends and lost them all.
But Mapicc was still there for him. He was still willing to give Spoke another chance and even get hurt for him, all to destroy that cursed totem. He was willing to take care of everything just so that Spoke didn’t have to do it himself.
Despite all the lies, despite the fact that he had spent the past few weeks struggling for survival, roaming the Underworld with no purpose, very little food and numerous battle injuries.
“Spoke, I just need to hear it from you,” seeing that the black-haired wouldn’t respond, the demon’s tone became more demanding, completely overwhelming the voidling who was already broken into pieces. “Talk to me. You have to make this choice — my life or all of Null’s?”
Tears started streaming down Spoke’s face as he looked up. Did his best friend just threaten he would kill himself if Spoke kept the army?
He couldn’t afford that. He couldn’t afford losing his best friend again, this time - forever.
“Destroy it. Please, Mapicc. Just destroy it,” he begged, clenching his hand into a fist.
“Good choice,” the demon smiled subtly.
Mapicc turned away from his friend, his netherite sword materialising in his hand. He gripped the handle tightly, offhanding that cursed totem.
The totem of Null - the one item capable of single-handedly wiping out the greatest military on the server.
Mapicc knew what he had to do now that Spoke proved he wanted a fresh start. For the voidling, he would move mountains, cross oceans and… slit his own throat.
He brought the sword up to his neck, bracing himself for what he had to do. Spoke shut his eyes tightly and covered his face with his hands to not see what his friend was about to do.
It’s not like he hasn’t faced death multiple times before. He was a warrior — he basically lived on the edge. He also had numerous totems pop to various enemies and weapons so one could say he was used to the sensation of momentarily dying and then regaining his breath.
But this time, he wavered. What was wrong? Why did it take him so long? Why did he have to grip the handle of his sword that tightly?
He glanced back over his shoulder and noticed the broken Spoke, waiting for it to be over. He could still hear his muffled sobs, which pushed him to cast all the disturbing thoughts aside.
One swift motion was all it took.
One precise cut that made him lose his breath for a split second.
One swoosh that sent shivers down Spoke’s spine.
But just as Mapicc said, it was all over now.
And there he was, standing in front of the voidling, green and yellow particles falling around him.
Spoke’s breathing was still shaky and he didn’t want to move his palms away, afraid of what he would see. He flinched when his friend approached him and slowly brought the hands down from his face.
He was alright, safe and sound, kneeling in front of him.
Spoke felt the brunette cup his cheek and wipe away his tears with his thumb. The voidling held his breath for a moment, his body stiffening against Mapicc’s touch once the realisation hit him.
“Come on, smile, Spoke. You’re safe now. Everything will be alright,” the demon shifted closer to his friend, trying to look him in the eyes. “Just as I said.”
Seeing how bad Spoke’s state was after what just happened, Mapicc moved even closer. He planted a soft kiss on the voidling’s cheek and grabbed his hand.
“Let’s go,” he stood up, pulling the boy up to help him get up as well. “Now it’s just the two of us again.”