Athaliah (CanadaNaomi)

"Here goes nothing..." I sighed.

"Alezhandra's journal is Storm's journal," I said.

They stood there, as straight as a rod. The silence enveloped them as I continued.

"What was in there?" Persephone asked me.

"Her journals, of course."

"No, I mean, what's in there?"

"Her personal thoughts regarding everything. Most pages are torn and burned up, so I don't think it's readable," I explained.

"Oh."

Then a sudden burst of light popped out of nowhere, causing us to scrunch our eyes. From the light stood Ray.

"Girls," he started, "I think you might want to know this."

* * * * *

I felt all the atoms in my body reunite as I landed my feet into the ground. My eyes darted to the new environment. Spruce trees scattered all around and snow covered the foliage of its leaves and the grass. Feeling the cold breath of the coniferous biome, my eyes landed on two people: Nev, who was crouching down; and Lion, who laid on the ground, his face in its serene expression.

"Oh my Notch," Persephone gasped. "What happened?"

"He gave his life... again... to someone," Ray explained as he looked down.

"Is he... dead?" I asked, praying that the answer would be 'no'.

"It's a good thing that he had a splash healing potion. If he didn't take it, he would be most likely dead by now."

I mentally sighed in relief. My heart lifted, for we didn't have to worry about someone's death again.

Which I caused.

"But the Wither really got him, and he plunged himself to near-death. It's good that I was able to treat him, though."

Then, Jay appeared out of thin air behind Nev, whose back turned against us.

"What happened?" he asked in a gentle manner.

He turned around, and that seemed to answer his question.

Without a word, I walked away, staring at an unknown direction lined with spruce trees carpeted with snow.

When I felt like I walked far enough, I let deep thoughts shower the deepest attic of my mind.

My eyes stopped on a felled spruce log, lying calmly and softly into the mild depths of the snow. With there, I let my butt touch the rough bark.

I rubbed my hands on my forehead, trying my best to cover my complex train of emotions.

Memories of my past fell on me. The day where I saw my parents lay down the floor, with marks of bullet holes on their heads, remnants of a bullet stayed on the floor as my young self cried out, thinking that they were asleep.

With my effort, I shook them up, on a goal to wake them up out of their deep slumber. When I heard footsteps echo from the front door, I remember diving through the counter to hide, tripping myself in the process. A man stood on the front door with an evil smile, a pistol in his right hand and a pocket knife in his left hand.

He stepped on the floor, leaving a track of mud on the floor as he aimed and shot my parents on the floor. I looked away from the sight as I heard not even a groan for them. Without warning, I quietly left the kitchen door without leaving a clue that I was there.

The first step I took left me in tears. That moment, I realized that my parents weren't asleep; they were dead. And I couldn't believe that I looked outside, to the world I'm living, in a dark, cold realm called reality.

"Hey..."

I removed my hands off my forehead and noticed Persephone sitting right beside me.

"Are you okay...?"

I didn't say a word, but inside my mind I debated. Should I tell her?

"You can tell me everything."

"Is my 'gifts' really a gift or a curse?"

She paused, presumably trying to process what I have just said as silence orbited around us.

"...what made you ask that?"

I spoke up, "I have always been the prey of the ecosystem. People always hunted me. The murderer, the police, the psychopath, whoever it is. They always hunted me, like there's something special embedded in me like I'm a diamond that can be sold for a very high price. But these so-called powers? This became the reason that literally killed all of the people I cared about."

My heart became heavier with emotion as I continued, "My parents died because of my gift! My best friends died because of my gift! Storm died because of my gift! Countless other people died! And it's all because of me!"

"Liah..." she told me, "I understand what you feel, that your ego caused the root of the earthquake that shook your life into a mess, but don't blame yourself, Athaliah."

I breathed heavily, my heart still heavy, and my eyes teary.

"Your parents died protecting you, Athaliah. Your friends did the same thing too. Because they wanted you to live, to become a strong person that rose out of the pile of rubble that the earthquake left you. They wanted you to become the best you can be, even though it costs their lives to do that. Don't let it be in vain, Athaliah. Don't let their sacrifices be in vain."

I paused, almost motionless as I realized what she meant. There's always a reason for everything, that there's a reason for me receiving this gift like no other.

Persephone stood up and start to walk away. I gripped her hand as I stood up.

"Thank you..." I managed to say.

She smiled in return, "You're always welcome."

* * * * *

Nev (Choco_Gurl_19)

My sense of time went clueless, but I ignored it as I held Lion's hand tightly. Please wake up, Lion... I need you...

I felt nothing but cold air and snow in my feet as I hanged on. Be optimistic, Nev. He's going to be okay...

I gripped on his hand with both of mine, but it doesn't seem complete. I couldn't feel his warmth, his feels, his love. Wake up... was all I could whisper out of my mouth and into thin air.

"Please wake up..." I whispered as I could feel my eyes trickle tears and roll down my cheeks.

I put my head near my hands, facing down as droplets of tears splash on the snow that carpeted the grass.

As if an answer to my prayer, I felt a slight movement of Lion's fingers. Then I heard a moan, which meant that he's alive...!

"Nev..." he called in a soft manner.

"Lion!" I exclaimed as I hugged him out of sudden emotion.

His body felt warm, but my heart felt warmer as it skipped beats. Cold emotions melted away.

I could feel him hug me back as he enveloped me into the warmth of his hug... or love, rather...

-=-<|>-=-

Yep, the hug actually happened. And it counts in the plot... subplot rather.

I actually liked Neon more tbh lmao

And I think Neon escalated more quickly than Perseray lmao

But oh wow, I think I did great with the description 😱😱

And it feels really weird to write with autocorrect 😱😱

I don't think there are fun facts to share in this chapter, so no fun facts.

Sorry, but deal with it. 😎😎😎😎😎😎👉( ͜。 ͡ʖ ͜。)👉

What will happen next? Will Neon continue to rise? Will Athaliah let her deceased loved ones down? What will be Team Olympus' next step? Find out next time on Minecraft: Arctic Fox!

Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to vote, comment, and follow! All of those will be greatly appreciated!