Chapter XII: Unendings
Tacky comes to in a fair-sized, empty room of End Stone. He asks where he is and is shocked to hear a reply; a deep, ominous voice responds in the boy’s mind that he is a prisoner and that he had found the voice’s island. After Tacky asks, the voice introduces itself as the Endlord, and it informs Tacky, who looks around wildly for the source of the voice, that it is not there, not even in The End, and is speaking with Tacky telepathically. The panicked boy asks where The Maker is, and the Endlord responds that The Maker is also its prisoner, being held elsewhere.
In another part of The End, The Maker waits impatiently within a bare, 3x1 chamber of End Stone. Suddenly, a terrifying voice speaks in his mind, informing him that he is to die at its—the Endlord’s—mercy. The Endlord rants about how The Maker did not follow its plan and how he was too strong but Tacky was a pushover until The Maker came along. The Maker challenges the Endlord to attack him, brandishing his Enchanted Diamond Sword. The Endlord just laughs, then ponders over how to kill The Maker. Fire suddenly erupts from the ground all across the tiny chamber. The Maker stands calmly in the fire, telling the Endlord that there is no way to kill him. It responds by saying that if it takes his powers away from him, there would be no hope for him. As the fires continue to burn, The Maker suddenly finds himself on fire, pain searing through his whole being. He screams as he burns, while the Endlord laughs, satisfied.
Tacky is shooting Fire-Arrows at the walls of his prison and loudly asking where the Endlord is, when the Endlord’s voice reappears in his mind, informing him that it has returned…and that The Maker is dead. Tacky says that that is not possible, that The Maker is invincible because of his powers, but the Endlord informs him that it had stripped him of his powers, that its power is stronger in The End than in Tacky’s world, The Nether, and the other world. Tacky asks what other world the Endlord is referring to, but the Endlord just laughs. Tacky then asks when he will be set free. The Endlord tells him that he will be its prisoner until it can figure out what to do with him. The boy responds by saying that he could just find the exit and escape, which the Endlord denies. Spotting the narrow, 1x1x3 space in one wall, he smiles, saying that it was too easy. Still holding his Enchanted Bow, Tacky breaks the End Stone that makes up the ceiling of the small space and is greeted by The End’s “sky.” He flies up and out of the hole, realizing after looking back down that the Endlord had trapped him within the small, independent island that he and The Maker had found. The Endlord screams in his head to come back and that it does not want to have to kill him. Tacky continues flying toward the main island; when he is almost above land, he finds himself drawing his Bow against his will. He releases an Arrow into The Void below. Despite this and the Endlord’s continued screams and threats, he continues flying, soon noticing a hole in the ground from which faint smoke billows. He descends into the hole and is shocked to see The Maker laying in a small, linear chamber, scorched and scarred…but alive. The Endlord notices this now, unable to believe it. Suddenly, Tacky draws his bow again against his will, Fire-Arrow pointed at The Maker’s head. He shouts that he will do not such a horrible thing, but the Endlord offers that he had already done some terrible things and that this one is no different. Tacky releases the Arrow, but The Maker rolls out of the way, anticipating Tacky’s move. Tacky fires another and another, and The Maker dodges them all, despite the narrow space. Screaming, Tacky resists firing another one, The Maker slowly and painfully making his way towards and around the boy. When he is behind Tacky, The Maker shouts for him to get to the Exit Portal. Tacky fires the Arrow in his Bow, The Maker grabs onto him, and he flies up through the hole, emerging out into the open End air. The Endlord, out of its mind with rage, screams in the adventurers’ minds to come back. Tacky continues flying toward the Exit Portal and descends into it as quickly as possible, the Endlord’s screams still echoing in his mind, even after he and The Maker leave the mysterious threat behind.
Tacky and The Maker reappear inside The Maker’s Hut. The Maker collapses onto his bed. Tacky leaves him to rest and heal, stepping out into Maker’s Grove. Walking around to the back of the hut, the boy is filled with a bittersweet joy as he sees in the sky the red-orange glow of dawn. He remembers the Endlord and the ordeal that they had just been put through. The identity of the Endlord was never revealed to him, but that would have to wait for another time. For now, Tacky climbs out of Maker’s Grove and climbs to the top of the highest tree nearby and watches as the Faradesia sun rises.
END OF ARC 4
Played out in-game on 12/26/2012. Written 12/26/2012.
