TW: References to death, slight de-humanization

Another day crested. The server was silent, no life was seen within this ruined landscape.

No animals, no players, no hostile mobs... Nothing.

Nothing was left, once again.

Other than one being...

Alone.

The others who had died had been ghosts at first, staying with the being. But they passed on. They always did, every time. No one should be forced to stay here. All that was left in this server was ruins... And memories of all of the worlds, all of the lives lost.

Something was wrong. The being knew this suddenly, and looked at the sky.

The being's eyes shut. They opened again. He was in the center of the main crater. Was it happening again?

The reason for the wrongness appeared a second later.

A portal appeared. Purple light flashed. The ghost watched.

An armored figure stepped out. "This..." Their eyes surveyed the surroundings. "That isn't righ-" They were cut off as someone else stepped through, bumping into the figure. They ended up in a pile on the ground.

It was different. Some of the people were the same, but others were different. And it was far bigger. Maybe more would die this time. Maybe one would stay...

The being chuckled from surprise as they realized what they had thought. Absurd, they'd never choose this. But... No one turned. No one noticed. It soured the being's mood. A harsh reminder of his place in this world. An observer, formless and forgotten.

More people spilled through, causing the pile to grow and grow. The armored figure - The admin. The being could see the aura of the code around them - was on the bottom. Eventually, no one else stepped through. The players untangled themselves, taking in the ruins.

The being looked upon them with curiosity. Why were players here? The last people here had been those admins investigating the ruins. From their position above the group, they quickly surveyed them. "Intriguing." The being tilted their head, speaking mostly out of habit. None of the players could hear him... Although the wind was always listening. So he supposed his comment didn't fall on deaf ears.

He didn't know how he knew about the wind, or the stars. The wind listened, whispering phrases in his ears at times. The stars watched him with gleaming eyes. His memories had faded.

All he knew was it was an act of selflessness that got him trapped here... In this form. Some sort of self-sacrifice, leading to the loss of memories... and whatever put him here.

It was an odd group. The being suspected that only 2 or 3 of them were human. Most were obviously non-human, others had auras that proved they weren't. But all of them... They all seemed... So happy... He wished he could join them. But they always seemed happy. Then the stars spoke. And the slaughter began.

"Guys..." The admin looked at the group. Everyone fell silent, looking at them. Their eyes were wide behind the visor they wore, and given their body language, they were incredibly anxious. "This... This isn't right. We're not meant to be... Here."

"Xisuma, what's wrong?" One of the members, an elf, looked at the admin - Xisuma, the being supposed their name was.

"We're... In the ruins of..." The admin started to speak. The being knew what was next.

The being left. They didn't want to hear the story, the legend. He wouldn't remember it anyway - Curse the... Whatever, who caused these memory issues. All it would cause is pain in the moment. All he would remember is the emotions.

All he knew was this was a cursed server, never to see the light of day when all was said and done. He was sure that's what it had turned into. How could it be more?

The being paused. Something was different. He had to save the group. This place wasn't safe. For anyone. And this was a different group, a larger one... Maybe he could do something?

The being made a choice. Time to try something he hadn't for ages. He'd given up. But these players... They were so happy. He couldn't let the same thing happen that always happened. He didn't know how the heck the portal had transported them here, but this had... Them, written all over it.

A comforting wind blew by as he teleported to the crater. "Thank you..." He whispered. The wind always been kind to him, reassuring him. He wasn't alone. He had the wind. It also didn't have a physical form... But it was always here for him.

He took a deep breath, more out of habit than anything. He was lucky he still had attachment to the land. He felt the ground, reaching... His arms phased through it, but it was of little importance.

The strain caused his form to flicker, as he tried, desperately trying to find it... The magic left behind... The fire resting hidden beneath the stone floor... Perhaps some of them would be able to sense it... But no one was more attuned to these remains beneath the ground the players stood on thaen the being. Finally... His energy reached it, barely. It burnt, Stinging. It was a shock. It had been so long since he felt pain... It made him feel...

Alive...

He shook his head. He grabbed it, pulling, pulling... He had to light the portal, bring them to another server. He had to save them. It didn't matter how much pain it caused. No one deserved this. This wasteland, this forsaken server. So he brought the flame... Pulling, tugging...

And lit the now-extinguished portal.

The being pulled out of the ground, weakened. They blinked wearily, looking at the group. They had expended a lot of energy. The wind blew more aggressively, swirling around the being.

"We can get out-" The admin seemed to have spotted the lit portal, and turned to the group.

The few with stronger auras seemed to have sensed that something had happened, beyond just the lighting of the portal.

"Alright, let's go. We need to get out before something happens." The admin shook their surprise off, their voice regaining confidence.

"But those were just rumors." The speaker made the being wince in pain as their gaze flicked to them. Their aura's glow caused his eyes to burn, almost as if he was looking into the sun. "They couldn't possibly be true."

"Either way, this isn't a great place for the next season of Hermitcraft. Come on." Xisuma stepped through the portal. The group followed.

The being waited for the portal to fade... To break...

Like the ones before. People came through. The fire extinguished. The frame would fade, crumbling. But this one stayed. Stable. He'd just destroy it later once he had his strength back.

But... What if...

He drifted towards the portal, his transparent hand reaching towards it...

He expected it to go through. Uselessly pass through the portal, leaving him stranded.

The last thing he expected though, happened.

Something grabbed him. Pulling, tugging...

The being toppled through the portal. And now, as it was believed they were, the ruins were abandoned, uninhabited.

As it will always, forever, be. As it was meant to be. And as it should be.

~+~

"Epo'u gpshfu.

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Jt cfdbvtf pg uif cmfttjoh J hbwf zpv.

Zpv nbz wjfx ju bt b dvstf...

Cvu Yfmrvb, ps Hsjbo...

Zpv'sf hpjoh up ep pvs cjeejoh, jg zpv xbou ju ps opu."

A/N:

NEW STORY NEW STORY-

IDK how often this will get updated, but it's a more casual/side story, so the plot will move slower, and some chapters will be shorter.

Also please note: Anything in this series that appears as gibberish... Isn't. I will be using different Techniques to hide information in plain sight, so if anyone has a similar mind to mine, feel free to try and find the secrets :)

WC: 1284

- Xera