As the days went on Alex began to notice things about Steve. For one he would often times seem lost, not like he didn't know where he was. But he would wander around aimlessly, he would pick stuff up and put it back down without reason. He also did not care for the Vilgers, not that he disliked them but he seemed to have no general interest in them.

  He was very helpful towards Alex though. He used a series of redstone to automate her farm. Putting the farm at an incline and putting a level of water over the top that was held up by stone. There was a lever at the bottom of the farm which when pulled caused the stone to shift and the water to flower. The water would then flush all the food down to the some chests awaiting at the bottom. Steve would pull the level again to stop the flow of water.

  He then created a dispensing system that picked up the seeds and channeled them to the ceiling, he could then use another level to repnt the food. It was rather sophisticated, although not sure necessary. Alex found that she didn't really farm all that often anymore. She had more food than she really needed at this point.

  Steve also seemed generally uninterested in exploring, instead he spent more time upgrading the structures that Alex had built. He swapped some of the stone for marble, which Alex wasn't even sure where he had gotten the marble from. Changed out some windows for stained gss windows which again confused Alex.

  Alex on the other hand continued exploring, expanding her mines until eventually she even started to find some diamond ore which she thought was thrilling. Steve on the other hand seemed less happy about the diamond discovery.

  Sometimes though Alex would also enjoy exploring the outside world. Whenever she did Steve came along with her, though he seemed less fascinated by the prospect of discovery. One such day Alex was walking through the woods when she noticed a light off in the distance. Without hesitation she quickly rushed to the source of the light.

  She began to feel heat emanating from the area as she came across a strange sight. There were some blocks ying around that almost seemed to form some sort of structure. The blocks looks bck at first though as Alex got closer she realized they were in fact a shade of purple. The structure itself looked incomplete, like a ruin. Alex's sight told her these were obsidian, a material she had never before encountered.

  Steve walked up beside Alex and she could see on his face that he was somehow upset at the sight of these ruins. Did they have some sort of meaning? Alex could not reach the ruins directly as there was a circle of va all around it, which had been the source of the light. The va did not seem naturally forming though, it seemed to Alex as though the va had been pced there to keep the ruins imprisoned.

  But that would not stop Alex. She summoned forth some dirt and pced it on the ground. She stepped onto it and then pced another one in front of the first. Onwards she continued, creating a dirt bridge over the va. She could feel Steve scowling as she reached the ruins.

  Alex pulled out her iron pickaxe and began to chip away at the obsidian. She had come to realize that the stronger the material the longer it took to mine, and the quicker it would break her pickaxe. The diamond ore had taken a long time. The obsidian took even longer.

  She picked away, over and over again, determined to mine this strange new material. Determined to learn more. Eventually the obsidian broke! But that was it...

  It broke...

  Normally upon mining something it would float just a few inches from the ground and would be condensed down to a small block form. But the obsidian she had broken was simply gone. There was nothing for her to pick up. Alex looked down at her pickaxe, it was showing the wear and tear of usage. She put the pickaxe away and turned to look at Steve who seemed relieved. What did he know about these ruins?

  Alex walked over to him but he suddenly became seemingly very interested in some nearby flowers. Seems this mystery would not be getting solved today. Alex thought it over, the harder the material the stronger the pickaxe she needed to mine it efficiently. She had seen the option to make a diamond pickaxe but had not done so yet as she only had a few bits of diamond. Perhaps that was what she needed though?

  Alex made a mental note to attempt this idea ter on as she continued with her exploration. Making sure she remembered the spot on the map where this strange ruin id. As she continued deeper into the forest she noticed the trees getting darker, and the woods getting thicker. The area seemed darker and she could make out more monsters roaming about.

  To her surprise though she eventually stumbled upon something even more bizarre than the ruins from earlier. In the middle of the dark forest was a massive structure, this one was not a ruin either. It looked like a mansion, maybe three floors high and wider than Alex's entire home.

  Steve happily followed along as Alex stepped into the strange woodnd mansion. The two walked around in the barely lit mansion, roaming the eerie halls until they eventually found someone. It looked like a vilger but it's skin was grey in tone, it had an iron axe on it's waist which it instantly pulled out the moment it spotted Alex and Steve.

  Alex's eyes told her what this thing was. Vindicator was it's name. Alex pulled out her shield as the enemy rushed her, she easily blocked it's attack and pulled out her iron sword and quickly sshed at the enemy. The enemy recoiled at her attack.

  From the corner of her eye Alex saw Steve pull out a glowing bow and notch a strangely colored arrow. He fired at the Vindicator, the arrow piercing it's side and it instantly died. Dissipating and leaving behind some items. Alex had never seen a glowing bow, or arrows of that color. Nor had she seen this kind of being. A grey toned vilger that attacked her?

  She walked over to the items on the ground and picked them up. They were nothing special, an emerald and some sort of banner. Ominous Banner, well that didn't sound good. Item stood back up and continued with her exploration. Her and Steve encountered several more of these strange enemies. They all carried the same weapon though and so the two of them had little difficulties dispatching them all.

  Onwards they continued to the second floor. As they explored this new domain Alex found some interesting items. The mansion had a variety of rooms, one such room had pumpkins which she had never seen before and was quick to acquire. Some of the rooms had bookshelves, which Alex attempted to mine and did so successfully. She had no idea what she could use these for but was curious to find out ter.

  One room had a bunch of obsidian and a single diamond block. Alex mined the diamond as she took this as confirmation that somehow diamond and obsidian were in fact connected. In one room she found a new opponent, this one was an Evoker. Like the Vindicator is too was grey toned but unlike the Vindicator it had no weapons and wore a cloak of some kind. It's hands were folded into the sleeves and upon seeing Alex it summoned another creature.

  This one was a Vex. A little grey creature that flew with white wings and carried an iron sword in it's hand. The Vex quickly flew at Alex but Steve killed it with an arrow. Meanwhile Alex rushed the Evoker but as she closed in she felt the ground shift. Moving on pure instinct she stopped and jumped to the side as a row of razor sharp fangs came forth from the ground towards her. They bit at the empty air and then went back into the ground.

  Was that a trap? No, Alex looked at the Evoker who had waved his hands. It must have been some sort of spell. Alex gritted her teeth and rushed the enemy once more. It summoned more little Vexes but Steve kept firing them down.

  Alex closed the gap between herself and the Evoker, it summoned more of those fangs all around it. But this time Alex did not move away. Choosing instead to trade blows for blows. Alex's iron armor held though and she stabbed the Evoker in rapid succession making sure to kill it quickly. As it died Alex saw something falling she had not seen before. Alex picked up a small golden item, it looked like a golden vilger actually. Totem of Undying it was called, though Alex had no idea what it did.

  She put it away though and continued on her adventure. She had a lot of new toys to py with for when she got back home, that was for sure. Eventually her and Steve reached the final floor. This floor too had both kinds of enemies which wasn't a major problem at first. But Alex's equipment was starting to wear down. She decided it would be best to head back home, though as she turned to go back down something caught her eye.

  She walked over to one of the walls to find a painting. There had been many strange paintings in the woodnd mansion, one of a burning skull, another of a creature with three heads. All sorts of oddities, but none caught her attention like this one. This one depicted a rge, darkened dragon swooping down towards a person cd in diamond armor. Alex walked up to the painting and pced her hand upon it.

  This painting, it stirred something within her. A knowing, and understanding, a memory? She could not tell. But something about this painting caused the world to feel as though it had slowed down, it caused Alex's heart to start racing. She felt an aching in her body, a burning in her soul. Her eyes so fixated on the painting she did not notice the Vindicator rushed at her from behind.

  Steve grabbed hold of her hand and forcibly yanked her away from the painting, in an almost desperate flurry he rushed her out of the woodnd mansion. Alex tried to stop him but Steve rushed past every door, every hall, sprinting down the stairs. Making a mad dash for the exit. Alex was dumbfounded with confusion. Had the Vindicator really scared Steve so greatly?

  As Steve reached the exit door he stopped and spun on his heels. Dropping a red block with rger TNT letters all across it. Alex had never seen such a block before. Steve put a level on the block and pulled it. The TNT began to flicker and glow as Steve grabbed Alex and pulled her out of the mansion.

  Alex heard the explosion and turned her head to the see the entryway in ruins. A fire had formed at the mansion and was now spreading, threatening to consume everything. Alex felt her heart racing. She had so many questions, and now it was going up in smoke.

  Steve led her all the way back home. He began to run about, gathering food and tending to the animals. As though his frenzy had not yet cooled. Alex watched with worried eyes. Something had clearly caused Steve some great distress.

  Alex walked over to Steve, putting a hand on his chest to try and slow him down. She could feel his heart racing. She had never seen him in such a state. Steve paused, looking back Alex. His eyes were soft, and fearful. He wrapped her in a tight hug, as though he was afraid she might disappear if he let her go.

  Alex pced her hand on his cheek and tilted his head towards her, kissing him gently to reassure him. She was not gone, she was not injured, everything was ok. Steve seemed to rex a little as the two kissed.

  Steve's hands gently tugged at the edges of Alex's shirt. Yes, they both knew of one way to take the edge off.

  Alex let Steve pull her shirt off as she followed suit, taking his off. Her hands gently caressing his strained muscles. Steve undid Alex's pants, pulling them away before softly pulling down her panties. Stripping her down as the mood seemed to calm.

  Alex smiled as she began to undo Steve's pants. Stripping him down as well. Getting them both naked. Steve then went back to kissing Alex as he pushed her up against the wall. His cock easily sliding into her as she wrapped her arms around his sturdy shoulders. His cock feeling so good inside of her.

  Normally this would be bliss. The two of them holding each other, kissing each other, making love to one another. Steve thrusting into her with tender care, his lips upon hers showering her with affection. His hands on her body, holding her like she was the most lovely piece of fine art that could ever exist.

  Alex felt whole in these moment, she felt complete as the two of them embraced each other. Her head leaning back as she closed her eyes, wanting to surrender herself to the pleasure. Though her mind continued to wander back to this strange day. The painting, the ruins, Steve's reactions to it all. As Alex pyed back her memories she noticed something she assumed she was simply misremembering.

  The enemies all attacked her, they didn't even seem to notice Steve.

  Steve tucked his arms under Alex's legs as she lifted up her legs, wrapping them around his waist. Her fingers running through his hair as he bobbed her up and down upon his hard cock. Alex let out a soft moan of pleasure, her body rocking like a boat out at sea. Her mind split between the curiosities of the day and the pleasure of this moment.

  Steve tilted Alex's head and kissed her deeply, his passion and care for her reflecting fully in this kiss. Alex kissed him back as she finally surrendered herself to this moment. Steve loved her, of that she was certain. Everything else, she would discover as time went on. This world had secrets worth learning, and Alex would discover them all.