Prologue

 

A chunk of glowstone spilled bright rays across the room, which was mostly dedicated to a menacing-looking portal that emitted greenish light. The general stepped towards a metal box with a lock. The two soldiers watched intently as the general inserted a key and clicked open the safe. He took out three glass bottles filled with purple liquid, grinning wickedly.

The general drank one concoction, instantly transforming into a tall, lanky creature with dark skin and purple eyes. Beside him, the two soldiers gulped down the liquid and shrank down into small, dark purple bug-like creatures with red eyes.

“This is ridiculous.” One of the soldiers muttered in a now high-pitched voice, scuttling around on the floor.

“How are we supposed to do this again?” The other soldier asked. He was incredibly dimwitted.

“Run around me, act stupid, and do whatever bugs do,” The general replied. “I am an enderman, sent to deliver a message to the princess. You are my endermites. Do you remember the story now?” The soldiers nodded, bobbing their plump heads up and down.

“Let’s do this.”

And with that, all three of them stepped into the End portal. The empty potion bottles, left behind on the mossy floor, seemed to shine with their own light. A symbol was etched into each of them, seeming a little like a wheel with an elaborate rim. It flashed for a split second before vanishing.

 

Chapter 1: The Overworld

 

A crackle.

A flash.

And the stranger fell from nowhere.

 

There was the sound of a pop. It was a strange sound, something like what was heard when someone respawned in one of their school games. Jack looked out the window of his room and saw it. A human form, clothed in black. It had more black material covering the entire of its body, leaving its face hidden.

Who is that?

 

He didn’t care if it was dangerous. This person had just appeared out of nowhere.

It was a girl. She wore a black shirt and leggings which both seemed to be some type of armor. On her sleeve was a dragon emblem. Long ebony hair fell in waves over her shoulders. The girl held a bow so dark it was purple, and hanging from her back was a quiver containing fifteen matching arrows. But the strangest thing of all was that she appeared to have a set of silvery wings that glinted in the sunlight.

“Hello?” Jack darted out of his little cottage and slowly approached the strange girl.

She swiftly turned, and her intense purple gaze locked on him.

 

The girl tensed up in fear.

A boy was standing a few feet from her, watching her. Instantly she jumped to her feet. How? When? Why? She had a lot of questions. Who sent her away from The End? Why? Most of all, how did she get out of this strange place?

 

Jack gave a start. The stranger’s narrow, electric purple eyes still stared back at his own blue ones. His parents’ and teachers’ words echoed in his head. If it’s got purple eyes, don’t stare it in the face. Jack quickly turned his head, but then remembered another piece of information.

Anything with irises that color is more than likely from The End. If it’s from The End, don’t look it in the eye. If you look it in the eye, it will attack you.

Why? Jack had remembered asking.

I don’t really know, they just try to kill you, so… avoid that kind of situation. The teacher paused. Then again, if you’ve seen their eyes, you’re probably in trouble already.

Oops.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” Jack promised as he held up his hands. He spoke in Universal, the language shared by all humankind–he doubted the girl would understand the Overworld’s dialect.

He turned towards the girl and started, once again, to back away. Run, his inner voice screamed, but something held him in place. Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me! I’m too young to die, he wailed inside his head.

“Where am I?” The girl demanded. “And who are you?”

 

Jack sighed in relief. “Wow. So it looks like staring doesn’t provoke you.

And I was about to ask you the same question about who you are, actually.” “Oh? Well, you’re telling me where I am first before you get anything out

of me.” She retorted.

“You… You’re in the Bluestone Village. Southeast Plains.”

“Which island is this? Why is the ground green? What’s wrong with the sky? It’s blue!”

Jack raised his eyebrows.

“And what is this weird spikiness? It hurts.” “Grass…”

“Where am I? What is this? This isn’t… this can’t be….” “Can’t be what?” Jack asked.

“This is still The End, right?” The girl sounded hysterical.

“The End… what? You’re kidding. You’re kidding. You know this is the Overworld. You know it is.”

The girl paled. “Oh. My. Gosh.” Jack could see the light of fear in her eyes. “You’re telling me this is a different dimension? You’re telling me I’m not home? Where is the nearest End portal? I need to go back!”

“Back to where?” Asked a voice behind Jack. He spun around to see his father standing there, a sword in its sheath at his waist. The girl’s eyes widened.

“There are more of you…” she murmured.

“She just… fell out of the sky. Sounds like she’s an Ender,” Jack stammered.

“Where’s the palace?” The girl shrieked. “Where’s my family? My home?

I refuse to believe this!”

Wait a second. Palace? Her family? What?

“Who even are you?”

The girl set her jaw. “Who are you?”

Jack sighed. “Okay, I’m not going to let this drag on forever. I’m Jack.

That’s my dad. And I live here.”

“Well, I’m Aza, and I’m definitely not from here.”

Aza? Jack would bet a bag of Emeralds that he recognized her name, her

face.

As if reading his mind, Jack’s father spoke. “I think I’ve heard your name

somewhere before.”

“Well of course you have! I’m Aza, the Princess of The End!”

 

The air temperature seemed to plummet a thousand degrees. Jack remembered something he’d learned from school. One reality, infinite universes, infinite dimensions. Everyone knew that. But there were four main dimensions, other than Jack’s own, that were well known by the people of the Overworld.

First came the Sky Lands, floating islands in the sky. From the descriptions Jack had heard, it was paradise. Eternal summer. Ruled over by the King and Queen of Heaven and their children, Princess Celestia and Prince Erion.

Second, the Nether. Essentially, it was a vast underground cave system.

Home to hordes of nightmarish creatures and the occasional human.

There was also Hades. A dark, subterranean world with ghostly white poplar trees and asphodel plants. It was so eerie, people called it the home of the ghosts. It was also considered the Overworld’s inversion, and some called it “the Underworld”.

Last but not least, there was The End. Jack remembered a part of his Dimensions textbook he’d read the previous night. Later he would check, and read the passage:

 

Not known for being heaven (like the Sky Lands), our opposite (Hades), or being terrible (the Nether), The End is the most mysterious dimension commonly known to the people of the Overworld. Like the Sky Lands it is made up of floating islands, but these are made of End stone and suspend over a purple-black Void.

This peculiar dimension was, formerly, a place for executions only.

Criminals sentenced to death were pushed through portals and killed by the Ender Dragon, a fearsome beast who attacked any strangers who trespassed on her domain. But one brave man changed everything. This man’s name is unknown, lost to the mists of time, but as the legend goes, he voluntarily entered The End and did what was thought impossible.

He befriended the Ender Dragon, making her realm safe for human civilization. More of mankind migrated to this new dimension, and as of the present day, it is a thriving monarchy, ruled by Their Majesties King Athanasius, Queen Cassandra, and Her Highness, Princess Aza.

 

Jack’s dad was first to break the silence. “You’re actually…”

 

“Yes! The Aza!” The girl relaxed for a moment, and Jack guessed she was reaching into her Inventory, a magical storage of items everyone had and could access–very useful, although the limit was sixty-four of any item.

A round object appeared in the girl’s hand. A pearl, it seemed, but it was dark blue-green, and a strange pattern was inscribed in its iridescent surface.

Jack’s father’s eyes widened, and he bowed deeply. “Your Highness.”

Not knowing what to do, Jack did the same. Thoughts were somersaulting chaotically in his head, and then it hit him. There was a princess in his village! And this princess was from a different dimension.

An Ender.

 

Jack and his father decided to take Aza in for the time being, unbeknownst to their neighbors. They agreed to keep Aza’s identity a secret–if the neighbors knew she was a princess, who knew how many people would swarm the house.

“Your Highness?”

Aza sighed. “You can just call me Aza.” “Aza. May I ask… How did you get here?”

The princess of The End looked down at her feet. “I don’t know. All I know is that just a few minutes ago I was doing some practice with my elytra, and then I went home. I passed by one of the portals we have in the palace–the sign above it said The Overworld. It was behind bars, of course. See, I had my Ender pearl in my hand. And I swear one of the palace servants grabbed my arm. I tried to scream but I think his hand covered my mouth. Then they basically threw the pearl–with my own hand. It went through the bars. Into the portal. So now I’m here.”

 

There was a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Jack’s father called. Jack heard the door swing open. “Hello!

Amber? Yes, Jack is in there with… A friend.”

Jack’s heartbeat quickened. Amber was his best friend. She lived two houses down from him, and he had forgotten she would visit today. What would she say about Aza?

“Jack, you in there?” “Come in!” Jack called.

The door of the study opened and in walked Amber. She had platinum- gold hair and bright green eyes. She wore her signature hoodie, a soft cotton one dyed pale green with the image of a Slime face imprinted on the back.

 

Amber’s eyebrows shot up at the sight of Aza. “Who’s this?” “Aza, this is Amber. She’s my best friend. Amber, this is Aza.”

Amber smiled. “Nice to meet you, Aza. Why do I think I’ve heard that name before? Like, maybe even at school or something…”

Jack stole a glance at Aza, and she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. “She’s the Princess of The End, Amber. She fell out of the sky yesterday.” Amber frowned. “Yeah, right.”

Aza reached into her Inventory and pulled out her pearl again. Amber’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

“Oh, Creator… An Ender… Your Highness….”

Aza held up a hand to stop Amber. “Please. No. I just want to be treated like a normal girl, all right?”

Just then Amber’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she slumped to the ground.

“Amber!” Jack cried, his heart thumping. “Are you okay? No, no, no! We have to get you to a healer!”

Amber slowly sat up again, her eyes strangely misty and distant.

“Beware, Aza,” She said in a strange, hissing, raspy voice. “The forces of the Nether are coming. The end of The End is near.” Then her eyes closed again, and she once again lost consciousness.

Aza turned to Jack, alarm written all over her face, only to see him equally frightened–but not for the same reason.

“Amber’s possessed,” Jack worried. “We need to heal her!” Before Aza could say anything more, he bolted out the door, yelling. “Help! Something weird happened to Amber! Save her! You have to! She’s my best friend!”

Then another, deeper voice. “All right, show me the patient.”

The door swung open and Jack came in again, followed by an older man in a white robe. “She just suddenly conked out! And started making these weird sounds! She said something! Something really creepy.” Jack said.

“Her temperature and pulse are normal. Nothing strange in her eye either.

I’ll take her to my house for a more thorough examination. No, you cannot come, Jack.”

Jack watched helplessly as the healer picked Amber up and carried her toward his home, praying she would be all right.

Meanwhile, Aza sat against the wall, trying to steady her breathing. Not true, she told herself. What Jack’s friend said wasn’t true. It can’t be. She isn’t a

 

psychic or an oracle, there’s no way she could know that. She fainted. There could be any number of explanations. But even as she told herself this, horrible images came to her mind, unbidden.

She pictured the structures and cities of her realm burning. Intricate pagodas and soaring chorus trees reduced to nothing but carbon, crumbling away into the purple-black static of the Void that promised a one-way trip. Her people fleeing their homes, screaming and running from the Nether creatures…

No No. No. Not going to happen, she told herself firmly. Stop imagining such horrible things.

 

The next morning, Jack jolted awake in his bed. He had to check on Amber. The healer had insisted she stay in his house for the night, and Jack couldn’t stand not knowing how his best friend was. On his way to the exit, Jack noticed that Aza’s door was ajar. Tiptoeing to it, he pushed it open with a finger and saw…

Nothing.

The bed was unmade, pencils and pieces of paper scattered all over the place. Elytra, arrows, and bow gone. No Aza.

Then Jack noticed the shouting and rushed outside, almost forgetting about Amber. He didn’t see the note stuck to the desk.

 

Gone to find the truth. A.N.E.

 

Jack nearly fainted at what he saw outside.

A large crowd of villagers, eyes all fixed on one thing.

Aza stood in the middle of the street, enveloped by a shimmering purple membrane no one seemed to be able to get through. She stood before what looked like a large frame built with obsidian, chanting mysterious words that sounded like a different language. Jack only realized too late what Aza was doing.

Aza finished her chant. A sheet of swirling violet appeared inside of the frame. The portal frame.

Then Aza jumped.