GATE: Thus the Players Crafted There
In real life, I sat comfortably at my desk, headphones snug over my ears, fingers lightly tapping on the keyboard. It was just another evening on the server with friends, roleplaying like we always did. We'd been doing this for months now—acting as if we were the default skins from Minecraft. It was fun. I was Steve, the iconic blue-shirted blockhead. My sister, playing on the same server, was off in the Badlands, doing her usual thing—hunting griefers. But here, in the heart of Endertown, things were peaceful.
I adjusted my mouse, guiding Steve across my small farm. Carrots and wheat swayed gently in the blocky wind as I harvested the crops. A couple of other players walked by, their names hovering above them like little beacons. One of them stopped and waved. I pressed the key to wave back. Simple things like that made the server feel alive. It wasn't just about gathering resources or building. We'd built a little community here.
With my inventory full, I headed toward the center of town, where villagers and players were mingling, trading. The market square was bustling—perfectly normal for a Friday night. An Iron Golem lumbered past, stooping down to hand a flower to a baby villager. I smiled at the screen. The small, scripted moments like that always gave the place a comforting vibe.
Then I heard her voice through proximity chat.
"Hey, Steve!" It was Alex, or rather, my friend who played as her. She was approaching with Noor, Ari, Zuri, and the others, all of us sticking to the classic skins. They started up the usual banter as soon as they got close.
"Hey!" Steve called back, turning his character to face them.
"So, when are we heading to the End?" Alex asked as her character stood next to him. "We've been putting it off for too long. That dragon needs to go down."
Noor nodded her head. "I say we do it this weekend. Raid the End, get our Elytras, and be done with it."
"Yeah, we need that XP farm, like, yesterday," Makena added with a laugh.
Zuri groaned. "XP farm? I just want my Elytra so I can fly again. I'm tired of walking everywhere."
They all laughed, their characters jostling each other in a casual, pixelated way. The server's roleplay rules might be strict, but that didn't stop them from having fun. The conversation soon turned to logistics—who had Ender Pearls, who had the Eyes of Ender, what potions were needed, and when they could all meet up.
Steve was about to chime in when Ari glanced at him. "What about you, Steve? You good for Saturday?"
He hesitated for a second. "I, uh, can't make it Saturday. I've got my cousin's wedding."
"Wait, you're going to that too?" Ari asked. "Dude, I'll be there."
"That's great, but now we need to pick another day," Noor sighed. "How about Sunday? Can everyone do Sunday?"
Before Steve could respond, Ari's voice cut through, slightly more curious now. "Hey… What's that?"
Her character turned, staring off toward the northern edge of town. A faint shimmer caught their attention. Steve moved his character to stand beside her and noticed it too—just beyond the village's stone walls.
"What the heck?" Noor muttered. "Is that… a mod?"
"No way," Zuri shot back. "We're not using any texture mods. You know that's against the rules."
They all stared as the shimmer slowly grew, taking form, until it was no longer just a strange light but something physical—something massive. It was a gate. A towering structure of stone, covered in strange symbols. Steve's heart skipped a beat as he watched it materialize, impossibly real for something in this world of blocks.
The villagers had stopped moving, frozen in place as if time itself had paused for them. The mobs that usually lurked just outside the village's safe zones—the pigs, cows, and creepers—also stood still, as though sensing something they couldn't comprehend.
"What the hell is that?" Zuri said, her voice now tinged with genuine confusion.
Then, it happened. The gate began to open.
From its dark depths emerged a legion—rows of soldiers in gleaming armor, banners waving above them in the breeze. What struck Steve more than anything was how real they looked. They weren't blocky, like everything else in Minecraft. These soldiers looked detailed—almost like something out of a high-budget RPG.
"Are those... NPCs?" Kai asked, his voice cracking slightly.
The villagers began to panic, running to the nearest huts, other players still in character as teachers and farmers frantically tried to shepherd them to safety. One player, a hardcore roleplayer for the first time broke character and took out a sword even though his character was a pacifist.
"This is bad," Alex said quietly, pulling out her sword.
Steve's hand hovered over his mouse. Something wasn't right. This didn't feel like an event or update. It felt… real. Too real.
As if on cue, a loud horn bellowed from the approaching legion, the sound ripping through the village. The players around Steve tensed, weapons drawn, their proximity chat exploding with chatter. His headset buzzed with overlapping voices.
"No way, this is insane."
"Are we getting hacked?"
"They don't look like anything from the game—"
Suddenly, Efe's voice cut through all the chaos, his usual calm demeanor broken by a sharp, censored curse. "What the f***?!"
Makena was already handing out swords to anyone unarmed. "Get ready!"
The first wave of the soldiers charged, and everything descended into chaos.
