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Steve awakened from his slumber. He stares around his cobblestone room. He is resting in a castle, but one he built himself. He gathers his tools and heads downstairs to exit his house. He lives in a large town, but the buildings are unpopulated. They were all built by him, due to his own boredom. A thick fog covers the lands he inhabits as well as a cold misty air.
Steve would have shivered if he wasn't so used to the cold. There is hardly anyone or anything around. Only farm animals that roam across the lands. Steve goes to one of his unfinished structures, a wooden house he had begun building a few days ago. As he begins working on the structure, the cool air flows past him. Almost whistling past his body.
The building is made of oak wood and has glass windows around it. Steve is nearly completed with the structure, but finds that he has run out of oak wood stairs for the roof. He sighs to himself, before stepping down off of the roof and leaving the structure alone. He decides to take a break from the house, instead wishing to spend his time mining.
He gathers his tools from his house and heads into a deep cave system near his town. He begins to strip-mine nearly every block in his way. Coal, iron, gold, and so much more. All of it becomes his. But he gets no fulfillment out of this, for when he returns home, there is no one there to share the riches with. He lives on a large island, surrounded by cloudy water.
Steve wondered what is beyond the threshold, but he fears he will get lost and never find his way home. So, he stays where he is. Building large structures for no one but himself. When Steve is finished mining for the day, he returns home. It is already getting dark, he quickly hops into bed and drifts off to sleep as the various monsters of the world patrol around the area.
The next morning, the sun is shining in his face. He slowly blinks awake and stretches before leaving his home once more. He wishes to complete his house, but lacks the proper materials. He searched the island, but finds there are no more trees for him to chop down. He hoped that there is at least one more, but alas there are none.
He then realized what he has to do. He has to leave the sanctity of his island to gather more materials. He is nervous, but swallows his feelings of fear. Knowing that he is very much prepared for any mob that might come his way. He finds a crafting table, gathering the last of his materials, and uses his remaining wood to craft a wooden boat.
He then places the boat in the water before getting in and rowing the boat away from the island he has called home for some time now. He gives the large structure one final glance before it is swallowed up by the thick fog surrounding the world. He then turns back to the large ocean before him, the cool water brushing past his boat.
He has no idea where he is going, he has no idea if there is even land beyond his island. All he can do is hope to find something out there. He can't possibly be all alone, can he?
...
Much time passes, and Steve finds nothing. He has become quite bored and wishes to turn back, but he falls asleep before he can. He drifts across the water for some time, snoring in the boat. He is then startled awake as his boat bumps into something. Steve blinks awake, before coming face-to-face with something he has never seen before.
He is met with a large wall of land, but there are various cracks and tunnels in the land. They stand like silent giants before Steve, which makes him shiver in fear. What could these things possibly be? He climbs out of his boat and pockets it. He then stares upwards at the large land structures, no sure of what to do. He then gulps before deciding he needs to get to the top of these large structures.
He begins to dig into the large land wall, using the stone and dirt he mines through and places the blocks underneath him. When he finally reached the top, he turns around and sees how far down the land he started on when he arrived at these strange land structures. Steve then turns and decides to head further into these strange lands.
...
The lands before him are rugged and very strange. There isn't a living soul here and the fog is much thicker now. The sun cannot be seen in the sky, yet its glow shines upon the land. Steve can hardly breathe up here, the air is becoming too thick for him. But he continues to press on, wanting to discover what lies in these Far Lands.
He pulls out a compass to try and get a sense of direction. But that is when he discovers that the compass needle is spinning out of control. Steve can't get a sense of direction. Steve then put the compass away, deciding it wasn't worth it to try and get a sense of direction.
"BAAH!" Called a creature.
Steve looked up and turned, seeing a sheep a few yards away from him. A sheep? All the way out here? Steve couldn't believe it. The sheep was normal looking, the only strange feature of it was that it had black wool. Steve had never seen a black wooled sheep before in the wild. It gave him an icky feeling. The sheep and Steve continued to stare at each other. Not saying a word to each other.
The sheep suddenly baahed, frightening Steve with the sudden noise. The creature then turned, ate some grass, and walked away. Disappearing into the fog before him. Steve shrugged his shoulders, assuming it was nothing. He then turned away from the sheep and continued onwards. As he did so, he quickly began to realize that the sun was now halfway over the sky.
He wondered if he should make a house, or some kind of shelter in case there were monsters that would appear in these strange lands. But he lacked the blocks to do so. All he had was his weapons, a few pieces of food, and some other tools. Barely any blocks to construct a house. Fortunately for Steve, he didn't need any as he came through a clearing in the fog and stumbled upon something ... strange.
There were rows of houses, constructed out of aged cobblestone. They were very simplistic, appearing to only have a door, a few windows, and wood roofs. Steve felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared at the buildings. A faint sound echoed around the area, scaring Steve even more. It was a brief, droning noise that suddenly ceased when Steve reached the front door of the first house in front of him.
When he entered, the wooden door creaked open and inside Steve found wooden floors and a chest and bed at the end of the home. Steve quietly approached the chest, before opening it. Cobwebs coated the corners of the home, almost as if it hadn't been used it years. Inside of the chest was a piece of paper. On the piece of paper was a few words.
You can't hide from it.
You can't run from it.
You can't outsmart it.
All you can do is pray that it will be merciful to you.
That was what the piece of paper said. Steve didn't know what it meant. Steve didn't know what creature existed within the fog of the Far Lands and he didn't particularly want to find out. He crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it back into the chest before closing it harshly. He then stormed out of the building, determined not to be afraid by whatever was happening around him.
He didn't know what these Far Lands he roamed were all about, he didn't know who these homes originally belonged to, and he didn't know what this creature was that lived in the fog around him. He just wanted to go home. When he finally stepped outside of the home, he decided to abandon the town. Not wishing to pursue its secrets further.
However, as he took a few steps he heard a low groan behind him. He shook, not wanting to turn around. Steve then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, drew his diamond sword, and turned around. However, there was nothing behind him but the town. Steve's breathing increased, was he paranoid? No, something was definitely amiss here. He just couldn't figure out what that was.
Steve returned his sword back into his inventory, before beginning to walk through the fog, and away from the mysterious abandoned town.
...
Hours had passed, it was nearly dark. Steve couldn't see the sun or the moon in the sky, due to the thick fog around him. Its chilly mist surrounding his body. But he knew it was late due to how he could hardly see in front of him. He tried placing torches, but they would burn out every time he did. It was like something was behind him, blowing them out.
Steve was now firmly scared of his surroundings, the fact that there were no Creepers, Spiders, Skeletons, or Zombies scared him even more. Why was there nothing up here? Why was there no one around? What did all of this mean? Was Steve losing his mind? Was any of this real? Steve didn't know, he was operating on sheer willpower to stay awake and continue walking through the dense fog.
As he did so, he began to wonder if he was any closer to getting back to familiar territory. He quickly found his answer when he came through a clearing and ... ending up back in the town again. Steve stopped walking, visibly confused. What did this mean? Where the hell was he? Was this seriously the same town he had been to before?
He wondered how could he have loped around and ended up back at the abandoned town. He sighs to himself, wishing to sleep. Perhaps he could rest in the town and regain his sense of direction. He opened the door to one of the houses, before a low whistle echoed behind him. Steve instantly flipped around, but there was nothing there.
Steve sighed angrily to himself, wondering what the hell was bugging him so much? Was he really being followed or was his mind playing cruel tricks on him? He quickly closed the door to the building, before stepping inside. When he did so, he looked through one of the windows and found that same black sheep from earlier. It was eating some grass mindlessly.
Steve wondered how he had found this creature once again. What were the odds of such an encounter? Steve didn't know, he blinked and turned to the bed. He hopped into it, before shutting his eyes and drifting off to sleep. When he opened his eyes again it was daytime outside, the area was still very foggy but now it was a bit brighter.
Steve rose from the bed, stretched, and got out of bed. He then bumped into a chest at the foot of his bed. It was half-open, when he reached inside he pulled out a note. It read:
I see you ...
Steve's blood ran cold. What the hell was this!? Who was watching him? Who had written this note? Who was in the house with him?
Steve quickly ran out of the house. He skidded on the dirt beneath his boots, hurrying to find an escape from the madness around him. He suddenly, slipped and heard a crack beneath his feet. He then fell through the dirt and into a dark hole underneath him. He then looked around and found that he was in a small home. He scanned the interior, trying to calm down.
Inside was countless bookshelves, a few beds, and a brewing stand on a table. There was also a chest underneath a cabinet. He then waddled over to the chest, opening it up and discovering a book inside of it. Inside of the book was a message, a message for whoever was reading it.
To anyone reading this, it means you are in grave danger. I have lived in this village for many years now. Yet, I have never encountered anything like this before. This ... thing, this terrible monster. It has stalked and murdered countless people in my village. The villager elder has started a cult around it, praising it to be some divine entity. But I know it is not. This thing is a demon. This thing is what I called 'The Cold'.
Whatever you do, do not let it know you are afraid. If it does, your fate is already sealed. If you are within the fog, it knows you are there. It watches from the fog, hiding in plain sight. Do not try and fight it, it will be in vain.
Remember; you can't hide from it. You can't run from it. You can't outsmart it. All you can do is pray that it will be merciful to you. To whoever is reading this, get out while you still can. Do not let the fog confuse you. Run in a single direction and hope to get away. That is all you can do ...
On the bottom was a scribble, as if the writer hadn't finished writing in this book. Steve shook in fear, scared that this monster had already found him. That his fate was already sealed. Steve lacked the will to want to fight whatever this thing was that was tailing him, that was hunting him. He quickly put the book away and began digging through the house and into the cave system around him.
He began digging, using what torches he had left to light his path. But eventually, he was consumed by complete darkness. Now all that surrounded him was blackness and the metal of his pickaxe clashing against the stone and ores around him. Suddenly, he heard a creak and a groan behind him. Steve stopped, his skin went cold as a single trickle of sweat fell from his brow.
Steve slowly turned around and heard something calling to him from the shadows behind him. It creaked like an old door, beckoning for Steve to come for him. But Steve wouldn't listen, he would submit to such a demon. He quickly began digging straight up. Blocking up the path beneath his feet as he crawled up to the surface world once more.
His vision was clouded by fog, his breathing quickening. Steve was panicking, for the first time in his life he was horrified. Horrified of what was around him. He quickly darted away from the tunnel he had made. Running aimlessly through the fog. He then skidded to a stop when he ran into something ahead of him. It was the black sheep from before.
"BAAH!" Said the black sheep.
Steve and the sheep just stared at each other. Steve's heart beat increased, not sure of what he should do. Suddenly, he pulled out his sword and stabbed the sheep in the head. The sheep baahed quietly before going limp. Steve pulled his bloody sword back, his fire slowly dying down as the sheep fell over to the ground. Blood pooling around its head.
Steve felt a bit bad, killing an innocent animal. But his guilt quickly subsided when he refocused his senses on getting out of there. He began walking away from the dead sheep. The dirt crunching beneath his feet. Suddenly, he heard a groan. Steve stopped, and slowly turned around. He saw the sheep twitching, moaning even.
The thing then got back onto its feet, before Its limbs extended exponentially. Making it much taller than Steve. Its body then contorted and extended until it was completely unrecognizable from what its previous form was. The thing continued to contort its body in ways Steve had never seen before. He couldn't move, as if he was too frozen in fear by this ... thing ... this demon.
The thing then stopped morphing, its body tall and spindly. It then slowly turned around, standing hunched over on two long legs and having two shorter arms in front of it. The face of the black sheep remained, before it quickly regenerated and morphed into a hideous face. It was large and had many rows of sharp teeth. The thing laughed and groaned at Steve. He didn't know what to do.
It then got mere inches away from his face. Steve's heart beat was off the charts, it felt as if it was going to explode. The creature then stepped back, before roaring loudly and leaping at him. His vision going dark.
...
Steve suddenly awoke, he was back at home in his bed. His body covered in sweat as his breathing and heart beat were intensely fast. Steve then looked at his sweaty palms, before realizing he was back home. He began to assume the entire incident was just a strange dream. He then got out of bed and assumed his daily regimen. Always looking over his shoulder, but finding that nothing was there.
When he finished mining and gathering food for the day, he returned home. He opened the wooden door but stopped when he heard the sound of a sheep. He turned and found a sheep grazing. Steve chuckled, as he initially believed it was the same black sheep from earlier. He then turned to head inside his house before stopping. He then slowly turned to his right and saw, from the corner of his eye, a black sheep.
Steve shook, not wanting to lock eyes with the creature. The sheep didn't move and didn't say anything besides a single low and groggily baah sound. Suddenly, the day turned to night and Steve was alone in the darkness. His house and other landmarks were gone, as were any animals around the area. Steve could feel himself shaking, not sure of what to do. He then felt a cold hand touch his shoulder. He didn't dare turn around, for he knew who was behind him.
He couldn't hide from it.
You couldn't run from it.
You couldn't outsmart it.
All he could do is pray that it will be merciful to him.