Confession

To truly become someone's friend, they must be able to feel like themselves around you. Fake friendship is when others act in your favor even if it doesn't suit them. Now sitting in a dark enclosed cave, the three players tried to open up to one another. Ricardo, being the conversational type, broke the ice of the atmosphere.

"so... you aren't gonna try to kill me now, are you? I mean with all the death and destruction I have caused?" he tried his best to sound sympathetic.

"Confliction. In a way, I see you two as vulnerable little brothers." Ryan answered.

Ricardo immediately reacted with a "gaee....."

Carl gave his friend the death stare, warning him to not make it any worse for them both.

"It's okay. I sort of understanding the kind of friend Ricardo is. He is a bit on the crazy side. He feels exposed, weak, fear of being left out and forgotten. 'Athazagoraphobia' I think it was called" Ryan spoke.

"It has been around five years since I last saw another player. Even though 'villagers' as a mob look like us. The aura they give and their personalities are very monotone. It's like how Nigel had taught me. We live to fulfill a purpose. Sometimes, I think this hell of a world is just one big game."

Both Carl and Ricardo looked at each other in the eye and nodded. It seems they had matching intentions. Carl decided to tell Ryan about their end of the story first.

His explanation didn't only feel alienated to Ryan but made Ryan more uncomfortable because he thought the remaining of his kind had gone completely mad. Carl began with the news department needing an edge over the competition, leading up to the infiltration of Whiskey's lab. The biggest hole left in his story was how they ended up in Minecraft.

How? And why was it that easy to sneak into a smart person's base of operation? Ryan would've taken an educated guess and dismissed it as a lie. However, there was a key factor that made Ryan want to believe Carl.

Ricardo had been sitting through the whole session and behaved in a proper manner. In his mind, he wasn't trying to convince Ryan to believe them but instead questioned how it was possible for Ryan to know a word such as 'Athazagoraphobia'.

The average intelligence of Minecraft's inhabitants so far only reached a simple adult. Was there someone researching in the ways of neurology to better understand themselves?

Repaying the two denizens of Venington, Ryan joined in on storytelling.

He spoke of the first day he awakened in this chunky world. From his memories, he could tell that he was carried ashore and was found by a clan of peaceful players. According to Ryan, these players held 'The Great Sbeve' in high regard, they had entrusted the future of their world to Sbeve.

Ryan had always been fascinated by the structures and pieces of machinery Sbeve had built. They range from piston-based planes to sand blocks falling onto cacti to destroy them. The uses weren't niche either, each 'discovery' was incorporated in each of his builds.

He wanted to meet Sbeve in person so he set off on a journey to find the great one. On the way, he made friends with eight other players who had a similar backstory to his own. With each member added, their suspicion grew that this was no coincidence but perhaps destiny.

They all had one thing in common. Washed ashore on the same day with no recollection of what happened before. Some had a tougher time surviving due to the nature of where they were washed up.

North of their world was the desert of husks, a place home to the husk mobs. Water was scarce so most creatures there had developed better metabolism to better last in the harsh wasteland. However, this wasn't obligatory seeing as sand bunnies were able to thrive there until this day.

At the Southern side laid the great snow barren. Opposite to the desert, the biome is extremely cold and food was scarce instead. Very few 'live' mobs are able to exist in it. One example being the snow bunnies, a mob that also relied on the art of scavenging to get by each day.

As for West and East, Ryan avoided talking about it but did mention that each cardinal direction was claimed by two major factions who kind of oppose one another.

Pillagers reside on the West end and Villagers the latter.

"So hold on... SAND IS AFFECTED BY GRAVITY????!!!!!" Ricardo and Carl yelled.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU BOTH CARE ABOUT??????" Ryan shouted back.

*ahem "continue, please." Carl.

"Well that's about it" Ryan answered.

"y'sure you didn't 'forget' anything?" Ricardo asked. "Like how you ended up in Minecraft or why I only counted nine elite tens??????? Y'know?"

"Regrettably, I cannot recall anything beyond that much..."

Ryan later went to sleep since he wanted to take his mind off what had happened to his resistance army. The other two, however, stayed awake to theorize of more ways to leave Minecraft.

They went through countless futures that played out poorly. First, they thought about clearing the 'game' but didn't know how to. Even then, would they get ejected out or would it shut down, bringing everyone's lives with it? Next, where would they even begin? It seems they were just suddenly thrown into this world without a goal in mind. Lastly, how would they build a safe base if everywhere they go, mobs would try and hunt them down?

They were not given time to think and Ricardo decided to stop the discussion.

"Man I could use some meat. I haven't seen an animal in SO long since I got here. No cows or pigs. EVEN FISH! I'm still empty on drumsticks too." he complained. "Guess I'll hit the hay then"

*Falls asleep

Carl wanted to stay up and investigate the matter by himself but was demoralized by a sudden message that popped up in his HUD.

{Quest Failed : A Man Stands for Himself, A Legend Stands for Others [Nigel Series]}

{Quest Penalty : Nigel's district is more hostile}

"eXcUsE mEEEE, wtf" Carl shouted. "fck dis, I'm sleeping now"

*Falls asleep