Book 1: Chapter 2: 'August, 2039'

Son of Eternia

Book 1: ‘From Dusk ‘Till Twilight’

Chapter 2: ‘August, 2039.’

A story by TSMC\_Minecraft2009

Edited By Superbattleshipyamato

It had been less than 12 hours since the incident of last night—the incident that had forced Declan O’Connor’s hand into doing the one thing he hated above all else:

Killing.

Yet the world gave him no time to think about the ramifications, the effects on him that his own hand had brought. It would continue on regardless. The world was just like that to him, to people like him who were ‘different’ - people like him who hated certain things, certain ways of living, of thinking that had seemingly burrowed themselves deep into the collective subconscious of the human race.

In his time, Earth, the only home that humanity had ever known, was not the place of plenty that it had been but decades ago. Humanity was going through too many, far too many crises to count—the ongoing energy crises, the population crash, borderline apocalyptic climate change. And those were just the ones that the world as a collective was facing; every nation and state had their own unique problems that they couldn’t seem to deal with.

The date was Monday, August 1st, 2039. Tomorrow had come.

Waking up with a groan, Declan found himself in his room, unsure of what time it was. Rolling over to see his clock, he saw the time:

5:15am. He wasn’t supposed to be up for another 2 hours. Yet his body and mind woke him from his slumber anyway. He had been suffering from this insomnia-like ‘condition’ since he was roughly 9, yet it never seemed to get better – never seemed to fix itself.

Declan knew that there was no point in trying to get back to sleep, so he was left alone with his thoughts. No matter what he tried, however, his mind drifted back to the events of last evening, in The Grave of The Fallen Star. He felt like he had betrayed himself in some way; not killing another sentient being, whether player or NPC, on that blasted server had become a mantra that had embedded itself into his subconscious. Yet he took the life of another anyway. Sure, Kathnisha may still be alive, but what would happen to her now? She had failed her mission, her quest. And her masters, the heads of the Boss Wizards, didn’t exactly take kindly to failed missions—especially ones that seemed as important as this. Why did they send her, though? If getting a shard of the Fallen Star was so important, why not send their best? Were they preoccupied, doing something else? It just didn’t make any sense to Declan, and these questions echoed through his skull for another hour.

Time—the immovable law of nature, the theorized 4th dimension, and one half of the continuum that everything in the universe seems to exist on. And the enemy of us all. It takes from us; every second is one that you cannot get back. It continues on its endless path, whether we want it to or not. It does not obey our wants, our wishes, our needs—it is permanence. And on its march, it continued: things happening, tick tock; people dying, tick tock. Did it care that all Declan wanted at that moment was inner peace? Time to reflect on his actions? It did not. The hours slipped by, and it was soon time to get up.

Declan’s life, on the outside at least, seemed ordinary by the standards of many. He lived in a small suburb to the east of Chicago, and his family income, while not the highest, was certainly not destitute in nature. He went to school 5 days a week, and he did fairly well in all his classes. But on the inside, something irked him—something that all of us have experienced at one point in our lives. But for Declan, this point seemed to be endless, for he had few acquaintances in the real world. In short, he felt like he was isolated in life, and truly alone. His main connections in life were on the Aetheria server; it was an integral part of who he was. And what relationships he did have in the real world were often superficial, shallow, and surface level. The hours spent in between classes were excruciating for him; all he could do was sit, watch and wait until the bell rang. He only had one person who he could call a true friend in the real world.

Declan reluctantly got out of bed and rubbed the crusty sleep out from under his eyelids. He slowly made his way over to the kitchen for breakfast, for he knew that, no matter how kind his father Ethan was, he would be now questioned about what happened last night. Because of this, he stopped for a moment in the hallway, and rubbed his temples, gathering his thoughts and memories of the events of the night before. It still didn’t make any sense to him; why did Kath wait until then to attack, why didn’t the Boss Wizards send out their strongest? Had it been a test for her? Or for him? Declan wasn’t exactly the friendliest with them, especially since the clan wars of last year. Had they known that he would be in the dungeon last night? Unlikely—he didn’t tell anyone about it. And if the dungeon is so well documented, why hasn’t anyone taken a fragment of the Fallen Star? Surely at least a couple of people have completed it by now, right?

"You gonna come through for breakfast, or what?" Ethan called out. He was leaning in the doorway, the same way as he was last evening.

This startled Declan, as he had been focused on what was behind him in time, not what was in front of him in space.

“Cripes, dad… Ya scared me a bit there…” Declan chuckled, as he straightened his back and swept his hair back with his hand.

“Sorry ‘bout that, champ…” Ethan noticed that Declan was staring out into space.

“You… everything alright Declan?” he asked, with a hint of trepidation.

Declan snapped out of his trance, and responded.

“Yeah, yeah… everything’s alright, dad. Everything’s fine.”

“You look like you saw a ghost there or something. You okay?”

That statement wasn’t as far from the truth as he might have guessed. Just moments ago, Declan had seen but a trace of blood on the walls behind his father. But as soon as he looked again, it was gone.

“Now, you might think that I’m going to ask you to tell me all about what happened last night, but I’m not.” Said Ethan. “However, I am going to ask you to tell me all that you’re comfortable telling me, but no more than that.”

Declan was still phased from what he saw. Was it real, or was the grogginess in his head playing tricks on him? Things like that don’t just appear like that.

“So, start at the beginning. What exactly happened?” Ethan asked.

Declan began to relay the events of the night before once more: How he had simply been planning to unwind with an evening dungeon crawl, and how his hand had been forced into doing the one thing he hated.

“I know it’s stupid, feeling guilt and regret for killing someone in a video game. But to me… that realm feels… real, almost. I personally find that place more inviting that here… Earth that is.” Declan said to himself.

“No, I understand your guilt, Declan.” Ethan swiftly replied. “Don ever let anyone make you feel bad because of your love of life. I care about you, Declan, I do. But I can’t really help you if you don’t tell me what’s on your mind…”

The two stood there, in the hallway, motionless. It was clear that the conversation had run its course and was over. They both made gestures with their hands and went their own ways to get ready for the day ahead.

Declan closed the bathroom door and unbuttoned his night shirt. As he did, he could feel the night’s sweat crawling down his back. In Aetheria, he took great pride in his appearance. But in the real world… he made himself look presentable at best. Instead of turning on the shower, as he would normally do, he found himself leaning on the wall, slowly sliding down until he sat on the ground.

“Why… am I like this?” He said aloud. “Why do I care so much about that blasted… wonderful… blasted… ugh! That server! Why do I feel more at home there than here? Why do I have trouble making friend in the real world, when I can do it fine over there! It’s not like I’m self-conscious, it’s not like I hate myself…” Declan thought to himself, the words echoing and swirling around his mind like a fish in a bowl. He had occasionally had bouts of something like this in the past, but this…

He looked down at his hands and saw that they had gained a reddish tinge. He knew that he wasn’t bleeding; that what he saw wasn’t reality; that he didn’t have the blood some someone on his hands. Yet he stumbled over to the sink and began washing his hands so vigorously that it was rubbing off the top layer of skin.

“Why am I like this…” He mumbled to himself in broken tones.

Meanwhile, in a realm unbeknownst to us, a man packed his gatherings to leave for the capital city of the continent.

“Darling, it’s always such a pain when you aren’t here. Must you go?” His wife pleaded with him.

“Alas, dear, I must make this voyage to the capital. I shall return by the day after tomorrow. That is a promise, my love.”

The man’s daughter soon burst out of the large tent-like structure they called home.

“Must you go, father? We’ll miss you...” She inquired with a tremble in her voice.

The man ducked down so that he was on the same level as his child.

“My darling daughter, I must leave. I shall return soon, don’t worry. Promise me that’ll you’ll take good care of your mother. You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”

“I will take care of mother. I promise!” She exclaimed with enthusiasm. She then retreated back to the tent.

“Oh, we’ve raised such a good daughter, Feldacia. She has your love of family, you know.” The man’s wife said, with her head leaning on his shoulder.

“Please, don’t flatter me, Aliqua,” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “You know how I get. Love you, my dear.”

And with that, he was off.

In the realm that humanity called home, Declan slung his bag around his shoulder and walked to the front door of his house.

“See you after school, Dad!” He hollered inside.

“See ya after school, Declan!” Ethan hollered back.

He walked out the door and began his long, 5-times a week trudge to school. Despite it being the last month of summer, the weather had been bitterly cold these past few days, so he put on his gloves and turned up his hoodie. He clipped his Walkman to his belt, and heard a familiar tune playing through his earpieces.

“I know I’m dead before my time, I know it’s coming down... If you could only see what’s right, you’d see what’s coming round...” he mumbled along, doing an air guitar motion.

He kept on walking westward to his school, mumbling the lyrics under his breath and clicking his fingers on beat. He kept on doing this until he felt a tap on his left shoulder. Instinctively, he turned around, but saw no one, so he turned back around and was met with a face that to him was friendly and familiar, with an unmistakable curl in her auburn hair with a streak of midnight purple dye,  and freckles dotting the area around the ridge of her nose - Valorie, his one and only friend in the human realm.

“Jeez, Val... Yah scared me there a little...” Declan exhaled with relief, as he removed his headphones and lowered his hoodie.

“At this point, I’m thinking you’re growing your eye bags on purpose...” She placed a thumb under his eye socket, ignoring his statement.

Declan sighed as he wafted her hand away from his face. “Val, I told you, I’m not. I just haven’t been getting enough sleep lately...”

“Is that so... you been thinking about someone?” She asked.

To answer your question, yes, but to answer what you were thinking, no, I haven’t been thinking about you at 1 in the morning.”

Valorie let out a jokingly disappointed sigh. “Who were you thinking about then, Dec?”

“For your information, it was something to do with the server, so you’d have no interest in it.”

“Always you and that blasted server!” She chuckled, as she punched his arm lightly. “Go on, tell me about it.”

“Val... it’s kind of personal... I don’t want to delve into it.” Declan mumbled.

“Fine, fine, I won't push, I won't push. C’mon, walk with me, I got something I wanna discuss. I think you’ll like it!’ She said with a wink.

Valorie had been Declan’s friend ever since they met 2 years ago at the back of their school. Despite the pair being polar opposites, they had grown to be inseparable from one another. She was outgoing and extroverted with a love of nature, while he was introverted, with Valorie was really one of the only people that Declan could open to. She wasn’t his personal therapist, mind; they both carried their own emotional baggage that they helped each other deal with. Declan had his issue with killing and being completely dependent on the Aetheria server for any semblance of sanity and humanity at this point. On the other side, Valorie’s life at home wasn’t the best.

“So, I’ve been thinking of a way to get you un-addicted from that *blasted server* of yours!” Valorie said with a bit of a chuckle.

“Woah, no need for the evil voice, I’m all ears, I’m all ears.” Declan laughed along.

“Well, I got a word and three letters for you... well, technically 2 words with a dash, but you know what I mean...”

“Quit stalling. I’m actually intrigued as to what you’re on about.”

Valorie was slightly taken aback by this statement, but she cleared her throat and continued onwards.

“Table-top RPG, baby. I’ve been organizing for this to happen in the school basement for months now, and I want you to be one of our founding members. Heck, you could even bring in that “Decadence” persona of yours...”

It was now Declan’s turn to be taken aback.

“Val, Decadence isn’t a persona. He’s an identity; a shield, to protect...” Declan tried to say, before he was cut off.

“Protect your inner self from the harsh realities of life by using an alternate identity to take the blows, I know, I know.”

They both stopped walking for a moment, and Declan scratched the back of his neck, before exhaling.

“C’mon, Dec.” Valorie pleaded. “You really need to make some more connections. Real connections. And this is a way to do it that you’re... already pretty darn familiar with, I must say.”

“Okay... Fine. I’ll join your little fantasy nerd club. On one condition, though.” Declan mumbled.

Valorie let out a whoop. “Finally, we can get you out of your room and into a basement... With friends! What’s your condition...?”

“I do something for you. You do something for me. I do your... Tabletop RPG thing. And you at least try Aetheria.”

Valorie simply stared at Declan and punched him hard in the arm.

“Ow... what the Nether was that for?” he said sarcastically. “

Oh, nothing in particular, but I think you know anyway. So, what’s the point of asking? C’mon, keep walking. Don’t want to be late to class... again...”

And with that, they were off.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the pair, Feldacia Godwinson made the final preparations to his noble steed. The journey to the capital city, Lorica, would be long and perilous, for it was over 100 kilometres away from the camp that Clan Godwinson called home. Clan Godwinson was a clan that consisted entirely of humans, although they weren’t exactly the same as you or me. They were still made of blood, flesh, and bones, as all living things are, but they were, for lack of a better word, cubic. For they resided in a realm, unbeknownst to Earth, called Aetheria. Not much is currently known about how this Aetherian realm relates to the server created by Entity, but it is known that, in some capacity, it exists. Its influence has been felt on the land we know as Earth, but which they know as Terraria, for millennia in the forms of tales of magic, seemingly seeping out like condensation on a cold glass. Feldacia continued to buckle up his horse.

Back on Earth, time seemed to be flying by for Declan. Not that he would ever admit it to her face, but he was kind of, sort of, partially looking forward to the Tabletop session Valorie had planned for the night. It was obvious that she had been wanting to do this for some time, as she seemed to have everything planned down to a T. The time, the place, and the people. His imagination flew by with possible ideas of what adventures he could have, with friends. This was an excuse to actually make some.

“Maybe, thanks to this, I’ll finally get better...” Declan thought to himself.

Suddenly, he felt a slight pang of raw emotion, remembering what had happened that morning. The blood on the wall, on his hands. He just hoped that it wouldn’t resurface during the session.

His final class of the day seemed to drag on for eternity. All he wanted to do was escape the confines of the classroom and set his mind free in his own way, not memorize the periodic table. As his teacher droned on about brain-numbingly dull chemical reactions, his eyes kept on darting between his notes and the clock on the wall. Time. Tick tock. And on its march, it continued: things happening, tick tock; people dying, tick tock. Did it care that all Declan wanted at that moment was to escape? To finally, maybe fix himself?

Perhaps, at times, some laws can be more caring than others, as, when Declan took another glance at the clock, he saw that it was only 5 minutes until final bell. All he had to do was last another 300 seconds and he was free.

“As you can see, if we mix CO2 with Hydrogen, a solid or liquid precipitation should form in the tube...” His teacher droned in a monotone voice.

“And if we mix extreme boredom with the promise of something good, time should slow down to a standstill,” Declan thought to himself. His train of thought, however, was interrupted by the sound of ringing in his ears. 3:00, end of the school day. Immediately, he bolted out of the classroom and burst through the front doors of the school. He had 2 hours to prepare himself, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

“Well... You’re home early, for once,” Ethan said as Declan opened the door.

“Yeah... well... got something on later, need to freshen up!” Declan exclaimed.

“Oh... I got it, I got it...” Ethan chuckled with a wink. “So, who’s struck gold?”

“It’s not a date, Dad. I’m just catching up with some friends for some good old-fashioned tabletop role-playing.” Declan sighed. “I still haven’t got anyone dating me.”

“Tabletop role-playing, eh? I did a bit od that when I was your age. Well, go on. Do what you need to do then.” Ethan let out a happy sigh.

Declan walked over to his room and didn’t even bother to unpack his bag. Instead, he opened his closet door and took out a maroon-red suit and black shirt. If he was going to be Decadence in this, he might as well go as Decadence.

He soon got changed into his outfit, one that had never been worn before. He realised that there was something missing, so he searched through the drawers in his nightstand to find a singular contact lens that was pitch-black with a red ring around it. This would give him the effect of having heterochromia on a black sclera, something that had become a bit of a “thing” with his Decadence identity. As he fiddled with the lens and put it on, he wondered if Valorie was going to go as her alternate identity; he wasn’t unique in having one. Hers was a dark forest elf that went by the name ‘Moonshroad’. Mind, Declan had never seen Moonshroad in person, only in some character sketches. But Valorie had talked about her in the past. He did one final check to see if everything was intact.

“Suit? Check. Shirt? Check. Tie and Belt? Check. Pants? Check. Lens? Check. Leather Gloves? Check. Blade… Blade? No check…”

He exited the bedroom and walked through to the living room to find his father. When Ethen saw him, he was blown away.

“Holy Nether, Declan! Why… How… Where’d you get all this!” He exclaimed.

“Turns out, ya gain enough fame on one of the most popular Minecraft servers in the world, people will do commission for you at a… discounted price.” Declan chuckled.

“Still… anyway, I could tell that you were going to ask me if you could borrow my Katana. The answer’s yes, if, and only if, you bring it back without a single dent. Not even a scratch. Deal?”

“How’d you… how’d you know?” Declan stuttered.

“I could see it in your eyes, kiddo. You do learn a few things, raising a kid for 14 or so years. Anyway, stay right there, I’ll be right back.”

Ethan walked over to his bedroom and retrieved an authentic Katana that he has supposedly received in Japan sixteen years ago. He returned, blade in sheath, Katana in hand.

“I’m only giving this to you to have as part of your… ‘Decadence’ outfit. If I hear that you’ve been chopping people in half, or even just showing it…”

“I know, dad, I know.” Declan mumbled. He took the sheath out of Ethan’s hands carefully and placed it on his belt.

Declan walked slowly out the front door and said goodbye to his father. He adjusted the gloves on his hands and began to move at a reasonable pace towards the school. However, in getting ready, he had failed to account for time, and it was only as he was a quarter way there, did he realise that it was 4:45pm. At this realisation, he cursed under his breath, and rushed towards the nearest bus stop, waiting for the 4:47. The bus soon arrived at the stop, almost missing him entirely, and he got on at the front.

“Ticket or cash, sir?” muttered a bored looking bus driver.

Declan fumbled around in his pockets, and gave the man a ten. He took the stairs to the central part of the bus and grabbed onto the handhold. Turning around, he realised that he was getting odd looks from other people. “Who could blame them?” he thought. “I ain’t exactly dressed like other people my age.” He ignored the stares and simply stood there, waiting for the next stop. It was difficult, mind, when a small child tried to pull out the katana.

Declan soon stepped off the bus and headed over to the school. To his surprise, the front doors were unlocked. This usually only happened if there was an officially run after school club going on. He knew that Valorie didn’t exactly have the persuasive skills to convince anyone to get this running, so he pondered how she could have set all this up. Her skills in picking pockets weren’t exactly what one would call sub-par, mind, so it wasn’t out of the question that she had simply nicked a set of keys off a teacher when they weren’t paying attention.

He took a left at the end of the hallway and made a beeline to the entrance to the basement. He was standing right there, before what could be a way to connect with people. But he didn’t open the doors, and simply let out a melancholic sigh. Was he afraid of rejection? He shouldn’t have been: What was there to be rejected from? The people who were supposed to be in this were supposedly fantasy-obsessed nerds, like himself. And Valorie would be there, one way or another, so he wouldn’t be surrounded by strangers. Regardless, negative thought echoed through his mind, but he shook them off, and knocked on the door.

He heard a bit of commotion from inside, and he could have sworn that something metal was tripped on. But, lo and behold, the doors opened before him. The person he was greeted by seemed not to be Valorie. She had flowing locks of midnight purple hair, and freckles were dotted over her nose as if someone had gathered them up between their thumb and forefinger, and gently sprinkled them across her face. His heart tried to jump up into his throat, but he forced it down.

“er… hi? Declan, here for the, uh… table-top RPG thing… A girl named Valorie might have set it up…?” He stumbled over his words.

Declan recognised the voice that responded to him right away.

“Oh, hey Dec! Uh… What’s up with your eye? Anyway! For a moment I thought that you weren’t going to show up for this. Nice outfit by the way! Made it yourself?”

Upon realising that the girl in front of him was none other than Valorie, albeit dressed like Moonshroad, Declan began to compose himself.

“The eye is a contact lens, don’t worry” Declan said, as he fiddled with it to take it out. “And, unfortunately, no, this is not a creation of mine. A fan of mine actually made it for me, at a discounted price. Still cost a fortune though!” He chuckled. “And, anyway, enough about me, let’s talk about you!”

“Wait, you have fans? Oh yeah, I forgot! This is your first-time meeting Moonshroad!” She placed her palm up to her right temple.

“Trust me to forget. Anyway, this was all made by me-ee” She said in a sing-song voice. “But it took forever to make, and gathering all the fabrics was expensive as f---ruitcakes. But, all worth it in the end.”

“So, before I go down to the *dungeon of dissapointment*, tell me; how many other people did you convince to join this whole thing?” Declan asked.

“Well, Hehe… eh… not as many as I would have liked. BUT! I did manage to convince two people two get down here, they’re… already there. C’mon! I’ll introduce you to… Ashgem and Pheonix Polestar!”

Declan looked across the room and saw to boys, around his age, gathered around a table. One had bright red hair with a blue streak, and the other had the inverse. They both were in outfits, like him and Valorie.

Declan whispered to Valorie “Are those like… their real names? Or do they have alternate identities, like us?”

“I can’t tell to be honest. Go introduce yourself!”

Valorie pushed Declan down the stairs, much to his annoyance. In a matter of seconds, he had gone from watching to being stared at. He tried to say something, but he was stuck. Instead, the boy with the blue hair spoke.

“Name’s Ashgem Polestar by the way. Pleased to meet you, Decadence. Moonshroad told me all about you. To my right is my twin brother, Pheonix” He spoke.

The boy with red hair piped up at the mention of his name. “Hey, I wanted to introduce myself! Anyway, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Decadence.”

Declan, upon realising that he could simply be Decadence in this situation, found the stuff in himself to finally speak up. “The pleasure is all mine. I have to say, it is finally nice to meet more people such as myself and my good friend Moonshroad.”

Valorie chuckled at the mention of her alternate name. “That should do with the formalities, gentlemen. Now, what do you so to getting this thing started for real?”

Declan turned around to face her, but accidentally revealed the blade attached to his waist as he did. The trio around him all gasped in what could only be described as a combination of shock, fear and pure nerd ecstasy.

“That’s not… a real… blade… is it?” Valorie asked with trepidation.

Declan rolled his eyes to the right and sighed.

Yes, it’s a real blade. A katana, sharp enough to split a hair in half.”

Pheonix chuckled a little at this, seemingly only half-believing Declan. “Yeah, and the pair of safety scissors in the pencil case I used in grade 1 can as well.”

Declan turned around to stare at Pheonix, his contact lens seemingly giving his peer chills. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead, he turned to Valorie, and plucked a hair from her hair.

“Hey!” She called out. “You’re lucky this’s just a wig, jerk.”

Declan placed the hair high above him, and let go. Taking the blade out of the sheath with his thumb, he calculated the angle that he should strike it at, and swung with the co-ordination of someone who had done something like this a thousand times before.

For, in reality, technically he had. The Aetheria server had taught him more in terms of swordsmanship than anything else really could; all the movements that he made in that server, his brain had memorized and could easily convert into the real world. And that he did, for the blade contacted the hair, splitting it in half. Lengthways. Around him, he heard a collection of impressed “woahs”. He sheathed the blade and turned to face his peers once more.

“Now then. Shall we get this party started for real?”

End of Chapter 2.

Declan ‘Decadence’ O’Connor will return, in:

Chapter 3: “Is All Truly Well When Surrounded By Friends?”