Welcome to "The Diary of a Miner"; a blog detailing the adventures and mysteries that I, Syeonyx, embark upon in my quest to further my mining and survival skills! It'll be tough, there will be good times and bad times, but I'll always be alive to post my adventures... probably...

Finishing the job...

      Myself, COLUS, Joe and UOPETA went back to shooting at whatever available target we could find. It seemed the others were having some success in convincing the guards and soldiers to escape rather than fight, and the Endermen where holding the Nether creatures back long enough for them to do this. It wouldn't be long though before more and more began to pass through the master portal and we'd be overrun so much that not even the Endermen would be able to help us. The Paragon hadn't shown up again since disappearing from before, and I wasn't wanting to see him back here again. What he had told us about teaching the Endermen a lesson by destroying their world seemed insane! Maybe that was one of the conditions brought about by not being born with the connection to the other Endermen. Maybe that was how the Endermen survived; through universal thought, each individual maintained sanity by sharing thoughts. Us on the other hand, humans, are able to think freely and act as we choose. Maybe with that ability, the Paragon went insane... Depending on the perspective, I would suppose it could even be considered a curse...

"Syeonyx, take the Ghast on the left! It's heading to that group of scientists. Try to nail it in the eye. Probably won't do much, but if we can distract them long enough we should be able to save most of them."

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I lined up the shot and fired, the dart sailing through the air, through the wind and rain, landing a few inches below its left eye. Even from this distance I heard it howl, and look in my direction, before turning back to the group of scientists, who had taken the opportunity and had hidden. The number of creatures pouring through the portal from the Nether had reduced, but the ones in our world had now begun to spread out further and further, following the fleeing groups of soldiers, scientists and guards. One of the flame creatures had broken away from the open area beside the tower base, and headed into the trees. As it brushed against the underside of the canopy, the leaves caught alight, despite the dampness of the tree, before being quickly extinguished by the rain.

"Look! One of the Ghasts has gone down! We must have injured it enough to knock it out!"

"The rain seems to be helping against those fire creatures too. Look, they're barely moving any more. They're just sort of lying there..."

We couldn't take any time to celebrate as there were still many creatures left to take down, and we couldn't be sure whether any more may come through yet. The five Endermen standing in a circle a few feet away from us were still together, each of them levitating above the ground, arms pushed towards the centre, eyes closed. Then they slowly lowered their arms, opened their eyes and split the circle, revealing an odd, orange glow.

"We have been able to modify the Ender Keystone with the source of Nether energy you provided. It is highly unstable, and may be unsafe to touch."


"I'll try it. We've got nothing to lose at this point."

COLUS put his rifle down for a moment, stepping closer towards the now-orange Keystone. Reaching out tentatively, COLUS hesitated for a moment, before continuing forwards, picking the stone up from where it levitated. He instinctively winced, but after a moment or two, he opened his eyes finding everything to be fine.

"Right... That's that step done then. Can we be sure this'll work? I can't see how we're going to get up to the portal itself, but if we can, I want to know I'm not just throwing a life at something we can't alter..."

"The Ender Keystone is now comprised of both energy of this world and that of the Nether. It is incredibly unstable and will likely tear itself apart if left alone for long enough. It needs to be exposed to a greater source of one of the other energy types to destabilise it when you need it to."

"So the two energies are currently balanced?"

"Yes. The Nether energy is in equilibrium with the energy from this world, but it will take a lot of one other type to cause it to rupture. The portal is the obvious source of such an energy surge."

"So we don't need to place it in contact with the frame?"

"No. This is not necessary, but would work. Instead the stone could make contact with the portal surface itself, or the energy coursing around the frame. This will cause almost instantaneous detonation."

"What happens after that? Does the Keystone then act as planned and suck everything into a singularity?"

"We do not know. The functions of the Keystone, though basic, have now been altered. Its primary function will still work, but the outcome of this is unknown. Suffice it to say, the portal will be destroyed."

"So one of us just needs to throw this thing into the portal and get back to a safe distance...? Okay then, I volunteer."

"No COLUS, you're a leader. If something happens we won't be the same without you."

"We won't be the same without anyone! I must make the decision and I decide to make the ultimate sacrifice!"

"What if I want to destroy the portal? We all have a right to destroy it, regardless of the consequences."

I listened to them bicker for what seemed like ages. I closed my eyes, and filtered all sounds out apart from the rain. I concentrated on that one form. The rain. I felt it cool me down, running down my face, almost as though it were washing away my worries. But I knew that wasn't right; all I needed to do was open my eyes and tune in again, and I was back to where I was before, worries and all. Sighing a long sigh, I tensed my legs for the event that would likely end my life. I levelled my head with the remains of the tower, opened my eyes, grabbed the Keystone and ran!

"SYEONYX!!!"

I ignored them. Bickering amongst ourselves achieved nothing but wasting time and wearing down our patience. Filtering out the other sounds again, the shouting from the others soon faded away behind the sound of the rain, like a ship lost in a storm. I was calm. I was peaceful. As I ran, I felt every muscle in my body relax as though it had accepted the fate I was choosing. With every heartbeat, with every closing footstep, time seemed to slow down, to the point where I could almost see every individual rain droplet. I neared the sandy edge of the base tower, slowing down a few metres away from the portal. I had luck on my side; no creatures were present nearby, nor had any noticed me as I made my short dash to the portal. Looking back towards the others, they just stood there with expressions of anguish and fear. Turning back towards the portal, I brought the Keystone up close to my face, allowing me to admire the intricate patterns that seemed to swirl and skitter across its surface. Looking at the portal, I arched my arm back, took careful aim and drew my arm forward. Time slowed down even more; my arm a single moving limb in amidst stillness. It seemed to take an agonising amount of time until my arm reached the apex of its lunge, before I uncurled my fingers and let the momentum carry the Keystone to its final resting place.

I didn't even have time to run...

Syeonyx signing off

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