GATE: Thus the Players Crafted There

[Martin Noctis]

POV: *Steve*

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, and 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.

---

Ten minutes had passed since the gate first appeared, and everything was chaos. Screams echoed in proximity chat as players scrambled to fight off the soldiers pouring through. I dodged an incoming strike, barely managing to raise my shield in time. My headset buzzed with frantic voices, overlapping in a blur of panic and confusion.

"When I get my hands on the guy who installed this mod, I will—IS THAT A F***ING DRAGON?! OH, I WILL RIP HIS SPINE OUT AXX FIRST!!!" someone screamed. It sounded like one of the moderators, but in the middle of all this madness, I couldn't be sure. He was hacking through two enemies—soldiers that looked too real, too detailed to be normal NPCs. At this point, I wasn't even sure what to call them anymore. Enemies, I guess.

I focused on the two foes in front of me. One of them resembled a hyper-realistic piglin—like something straight out of that god-awful movie trailer that we all agreed not to speak of again but somehow worse and this one wasn't blocky. It snarled as it charged, swinging a sword that shimmered unnervingly in the sunlight. I gritted my teeth, blocking its attack with a sword I'd picked up from a fallen player. Hopefully they wouldn't want it back or just craft a new one.

The other soldier, more human in appearance, lunged at me next. I swung back, and my sword connected. He let out a strangled cry. Blood—actual, real blood—splattered from the wound. My sword was slick with it, dark and viscous, not the usual pixelated red from horror maps or gore mods. My stomach twisted. This wasn't part of the game. No mod should be this realistic.

The human soldier stumbled back and collapsed. Dead. No items dropped, no loot appeared. Just a corpse lying there, motionless. I felt a knot tighten in my chest, but I couldn't afford to stop. Another explosion boomed nearby, shaking the ground.

I glanced to my left and saw Noor rigging up a makeshift TNT cannon. The pixelated explosion sent chunks of debris flying, taking out a whole squad of enemies. It wasn't much, but it bought us some breathing room.

"Good job, Noor!" I shouted over voice chat, grateful for the cover. "That should buy us time to regroup!"

Noor didn't respond—too busy setting up another TNT charge. Her character sprinted back and forth, placing blocks with the kind of frantic efficiency that only Redstone players had. Right next to her, Makena was trying to build an improvised wall with the limited resources she had left in her inventory.

"Keep them back!" Makena yelled, her voice crackling through the mic. She sounded winded, like she'd been glued to the screen for hours. Which she has but it was only two. "We need to fortify the market square before they break through!"

On the southern side of the village, Alex was in full combat mode, fighting off soldiers that had swarmed that end. Her sword gleamed with Sharpness V, and her movements were quick, decisive. Every swing found its mark. She fought with a precision that made me grateful she was on our side.

"Efe, cover me!" she shouted, parrying a blow and spinning around to take down another armored soldier.

Efe, armed with a bow, fired off arrows with amazing accuracy. His proximity chat voice was calm, as if this was just another PvP session. "On it. Just keep your shield up, Alex."

Near the village walls, Zuri had climbed one of the nearby towers and was picking off the incoming enemies with her crossbow. From her high vantage point, each bolt found its target square in the chest of a charging enemy.

"Headshot!" Zuri's voice rang out over the chat, a brief flash of excitement cutting through the chaos. But her tone quickly changed. "There's too many of them! They're coming from all sides!"

"Hold the line!" Kai yelled back from below. He was weaving in and out of the enemy ranks, striking quickly before vanishing into the shadows. His stealth tactics kept some of the soldiers disoriented, but it wouldn't last. "We just need to buy time until we can evacuate!"

Then, from the center of town, the red fireworks shot up into the sky. They arced high, trailing sparks before exploding in a brilliant display. The sharp ring of bells followed, echoing over the battlefield.

"Evacuation," I muttered to myself, recognizing the signal immediately. The leaders of Endertown—players who'd taken on the roles of town officials and mayor—were signaling everyone to fall back. They were warning the local players that the attack was in full swing. "Fxck."

"Fall back to the Dome!" Alex yelled, still swinging her sword. "Everyone, move! Now!"

My heart pounded as I sprinted toward the evacuation point, trying to stay close to the others. Behind me, the sounds of battle raged on—clashing weapons, explosions, and the occasional desperate shout. This felt more like Mount and Blade than Minecraft right now.

I dodged arrows and ducked past enemy soldiers as I ran. Noor's TNT cannons were still firing, keeping the advancing troops at bay, but it wouldn't hold for long. Makena was already halfway to the town's City Hall/Gladiator Arena, ushering villagers and players alike into safety.

Once the last player entered, the city guards began blocking off the entrance with obsidian. For a brief moment, we all stood there, catching our breath which we lost due to the stress. The sounds of battle were muffled behind the thick walls, but we knew it wouldn't last. Those who didn't make it into the dome are probably running away now to warn other towns and players.

"WHAT THE FXCK WAS THAT?!" someone finally shouted, breaking the silence. Similar outbursts followed, everyone's voice a mix of shock and anger.

"QUIET!" The mayor's voice boomed through the crowd. They wore the skin of a villager, and their commanding tone silenced the chatter. "We can figure it out later. Right now, we need to retake the town from these axxhats! They only made us retreat because they caught us off guard. We will repay them for that. Now, how long until the sun goes down?"

His assistant, who wore the skin of a scribe, quickly replied. "Ten hours."

"I meant in-game!" the mayor snapped.

"OH! Five minutes," the assistant replied sheepishly.

The mayor straightened up, their voice firm as they laid out the plan. "Alright, here's what we'll do. The moment night falls, mobs will start to spawn. I doubt these guys know what that means. While they're busy fighting off the mobs, we'll launch a counterattack!"

"What about their dragons?" I asked, stepping forward. The memory of those huge winged beasts still burned in my mind.

"Good question, Steve!" The mayor was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Archers! Your priority is taking out the riders of those dragons. Without riders, the dragons will either turn feral or attack everything in sight. Either way, it's better than nothing!"

The crowd murmured in agreement. I glanced at my friends, and they all nodded, determined expressions on their pixelated faces. Nightfall was coming soon, and with it, the tide of battle would shift.

For better or worse.

---

POV: Legatus
The raid on the Barbarian City was going better than expected. My men—battle-hardened, disciplined—poured through the Gods Given Gate, clashing against the locals with little resistance. These blockmen, with their crude weapons and odd structures, were no match for the might of the Imperial Legions. The town, or what passed for one, was built in strange, geometric shapes. Its people—both the farmers and the so-called warriors—fled in terror or locked themselves away in their curious stone fortresses.

We'd had some trouble, of course. The iron giants, the ones that walked like men but bore the strength of beasts, were formidable. They crushed several of my men before we brought them down. But no matter. They were few, and we had numbers. Already, the slaves had been shackled and were being marched through the gate. They would fetch a good price in the markets back home.

I dismounted, the clang of armor breaking the stillness of the camp as we prepared for the night. The fires were being lit, tents erected, the spoils of our victory piled high. It was a good raid. The Barbarian City had fallen easily, and though some of the warriors had retreated to their central dome, they were cornered. Their blocky walls wouldn't hold for long.

I scanned the strange sky, devoid of stars but awash in unnatural light. The colors of this world were vivid, unnatural, but not without beauty. Yet something about this place unnerved me—the way the ground moved under our feet, the odd sensation of time flowing differently. It felt… wrong. Even the air tasted strange.

A hiss behind me drew my attention. I turned, hand on my sword, expecting one of the city's warriors or some stray pesant, but what appeared in front of me was beyond anything I could comprehend.

A creature. Tall—towering, really. Thin and black as night, with limbs too long for a man. Its skin shimmered unnaturally, and its eyes… gods, those eyes! Bright purple, glowing like the fires of hell. It just stood there, motionless, staring at me with those eyes.

A demon.

I started to unsheet my sword, heart pounding, but before I could strike, the thing let out a sound—a horrible, ear-piercing scream that echoed in my very bones. Then it was gone, vanished into the air, leaving me cold and rattled.

"What in the name of the gods was that?" I muttered, gripping my sword tighter. The men near me stirred, glancing around nervously.

"Did anyone else see it?" I barked, trying to regain control. No one answered.

I barely had time to process what had just happened when another sound reached me—screaming, this time from the edges of the camp. I spun on my heel, drawing my sword fully as chaos erupted around us. It wasn't the barbarians, nor was it the iron beasts. No, this was something else entirely.

They were coming from all sides—creatures, monsters that defied explanation.

One of them—a large green thing, its body shifting and pulsing with energy—lunged at one of my men. He stabbed at it, but before his blade could connect, the creature exploded, sending him and two others flying into the air, their armor shattered.

"What madness is this?!" I yelled, backing up toward the center of the camp.

More of the creatures appeared from the dark. They weren't human—no, these things were ghouls. Unnaturally green and blocky as everything else in this mad world. They moved slowly but relentlessly, like the undead warriors in old Imperial myths. I saw one of our own mages summon his ghouls to fight them off, but as they clashed, the blocky creatures ripped his magic-woven abominations apart like they were made of straw. Our mage barely had time to scream before the ghouls tore him to pieces, blood spraying the grass.

"Archers! To the front!" I ordered, rallying what remained of my men. "Hold the lines! These are no mere ghouls!"

And then the archers screamed. I looked up just in time to see massive spiders—larger than any I had seen in the wild forests of Falmart—crawling along the rooftops, their eight eyes gleaming in the moonlight. They pounced on men, sinking their fangs deep into armor, into flesh, tearing through the lines of my soldiers.

We were being overwhelmed.

But then, just as the chaos threatened to consume us, the screech of a Drake cut through the air. My heart surged with hope as our Drake Riders swooped down from the sky, breathing fire onto the hordes of beasts below. The ghouls and the exploding creatures were no match for the fury of dragon fire. Soldiers cheered as the Drakes tore into the monsters, their massive talons raking through the ground.

Victory, it seemed, was near. We would drive these demons back into the earth where they belonged. And then, as I surveyed the battlefield, I saw him—the leader of the blockmen.

The Barbarian Legate.

His strange, square body was at the forefront of the attack, moving with a speed and precision that defied his awkward appearance. His sword gleamed in the moonlight, cutting down soldier after soldier, and behind him, more of the blockmen poured from the dome. Some fired crossbows, their bolts striking down the Drake Riders. One by one, the Drakes fell from the sky, their riders helpless against the coordinated onslaught.

"Protect the Drakes!" I shouted, but my voice was lost in the chaos. More of my men fell, overrun by the monsters and the damned blockmen. I pushed forward, cutting through the ghouls and demons, desperate to reach the Barbarian Legate. If I could just kill him—if I could bring down their leader—perhaps we could still turn the tide.

But before I could reach him, I heard a sound. A familiar sound that froze me in my tracks.

The scream.

I barely had time to turn before the black demon appeared again, its purple eyes burning into my soul. I swung my sword, aiming for its neck, but it was too fast. The thing vanished and then reappeared right behind me.

I stumbled, raising my sword again, but the demon didn't attack. It reached out with one long, black arm and grabbed me.

And then—everything shifted.

The world around me blurred into nothingness, the battlefield, my men, the blockmen, all disappearing in an instant. My breath caught in my throat as I felt my body lurch through space, and then, suddenly, I was somewhere else.

Somewhere dark. Somewhere ancient.

Before me, a massive dragon loomed, its eyes glowing with the same malevolent purple as the demon's. Its wings stretched out across the sky, casting me in shadow.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came.

The last thing I saw was the demon's eyes, burning brighter than ever, and then—the darkness consumed me.

 

[Martin Noctis]

View: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/584JVZWpSb8DxTVUZCQj0F?si=d4d59cb656144369
made a thing for you guys