The grand marble halls of the Imperial Palace were as pristine as ever, untouched by the chaos unfolding beyond the capital’s walls. Torches flickered against the gilded pillars, and servants moved in hushed reverence, their footsteps barely a whisper against the polished stone. The Empire stood as it always had—strong, unwavering.
Yet the parchment before me told a different story.
I reclined in my throne, my fingers lightly drumming against the armrest as I listened to the trembling voice of the messenger. He knelt at the foot of the dais, head bowed, shoulders rigid. The poor fool was clearly terrified, and he should be. The words he spoke were ridiculous.
“Repeat that,” I ordered, my voice calm but firm.
The messenger gulped, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. “Your Majesty… Alnus Hill has fallen. The Second Expeditionary Force was completely annihilated. The survivors report that the enemy—” he hesitated, as if the next words might cost him his life, “—the enemy was not human.”
I exhaled slowly, schooling my expression into one of passive contemplation. Not human. That, in itself, was no great shock. There were plenty of beasts, monsters, and tribes unfit to be called men. But what followed was the part I could not abide.
“The reports claim that these… creatures, these ‘Blockmen,’ as the soldiers have taken to calling them, wield strange magics beyond anything we have seen. They move impossibly fast, appear and disappear at will, and…” The messenger trailed off, his breathing shallow.
“Speak.”
“They do not die.”
A ripple of unease moved through the chamber. The gathered nobles, generals, and bureaucrats shifted uncomfortably, exchanging wary glances. Even the Praetorian guards standing at attention near the columns stiffened, though their faces remained impassive.
I slowly leaned forward, resting my chin against my clasped hands. "And what evidence do they provide for this claim?"
“Witness accounts, my Emperor.”
A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. Ah, yes. Witness accounts.
Survivors of battle were unreliable at best. Cowards and deserters often saw shadows that weren’t there, demons in every loss. These men had fled in disgrace, and they sought a supernatural justification for their failure.
The fools.
"And what of Legatus Astorius?" I inquired. “Was he captured, or did he die with what little honor remains in this mess?”
“He survived, my Emperor, though he lost an arm in the retreat.”
A shame. Astorius had been one of the more competent commanders, but that injury meant he was of limited use now.
I turned my gaze to Count Marcellus, one of the Empire’s leading bureaucrats. He stood rigid, his sharp features betraying nothing.
“You’ve reviewed these accounts, have you not?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Marcellus replied, bowing slightly. “The stories are… consistent. However, consistency does not mean truth.”
“Indeed.” I nodded. “And what do you think happened?”
Marcellus hesitated only briefly before answering. “An enemy with unusual tactics. Perhaps a force from beyond the Gate, a civilization we did not anticipate. But invincible warriors? I do not believe in such fairy tales.”
I chuckled, pleased. “Nor do I. However, that does not mean we cannot use this… tragedy to our advantage.”
The nobles stirred slightly, their curiosity piqued.
Marcellus arched a brow. “You mean to continue the invasion, Your Majesty?”
“Of course,” I said smoothly. “This disaster, however exaggerated, provides a unique opportunity.”
I stood, the weight of my robe shifting with me as I descended the steps of my throne. “I have rivals in the Senate, generals who think they can govern better than I, noble houses who grow restless in peacetime. A new war will keep them all occupied.”
Marcellus frowned. “With all due respect, my Emperor, the last campaign has left many questioning the wisdom of the war.”
I gave him a look. He did not flinch. Good. A man without a spine was of no use to me.
“That is precisely why I will not be the one leading it.” I gestured toward the gathered nobles. “The great houses wish for more glory? The generals yearn for conquest? Then let them have it. I will grant them command of this next expedition.”
Several nobles straightened at that, interest flickering in their eyes. Some, no doubt, were already imagining their own rivals falling to these Blockmen. Others, those more wary of me, likely fearing that they will be sent into a similar trap if they anger me.
If the rivals win, then they would be too busy subjugating the lands beyond the Gate to cause me trouble. If they loose, then their disgrace would make centralizing power all the easier. Either way, I would be rid of them.
Still, one problem remained.
Zorzal.
I briefly considered throwing my ambitious fool of a son into the war to rid myself of him, but I dismissed the thought. He was too popular. His battlefield victories—though exaggerated—had endeared him to the common folk and the soldiers alike. Losing him now would cause unrest.
No, I would keep him close. At least for now.
I returned to my throne and reached for the quill beside me. Dipping it into the ink, I let it hover over the parchment as I considered my next move.
To my beloved daughter, Princess Pi?a Co Lada,
I frowned. ‘Beloved’ might have been an exaggeration, but it served its purpose.
War approaches once more. The Blockmen, as they are now called, have taken Alnus Hill and the Gate. They are no mere savages, but a force unknown to our world. This is your warning—tread carefully.
I paused, then added:
Also, do not forget to find a suitable husband. It is unbecoming for a princess of your age to remain unmarried.
That should remind her of her place. I set the quill down, waving for a scribe to take the letter.
Then I turned my thoughts to the vassal kingdoms.
For years, they had resisted full integration into the Empire. They paid tribute, followed orders when necessary, but held onto their independence like a beggar clutching a coin.
But what if the Blockmen became their problem, too?
A crisis was the perfect excuse. A fabricated one, if necessary.
Perhaps a disappearance, an attack, something that would force the vassals to turn to the Empire for aid. And once our soldiers were there, reinforcing their lands, they would not leave.
Yes… the Blockmen might be more useful than I first realized.
With a smirk, I leaned back in my throne.
Let the game begin.
Posted by u/RandomMinecrafter42
"What the hell is happening on the FactionBlock server?"
So, I don’t know if you guys have been following this, but something weird is going on in FactionBlock, and I’m trying to figure out if this is some insane ARG, a mod experiment, or something else.
For those of you who don’t know, FactionBlock is one of the biggest survival roleplay servers in Minecraft. It's been running for years with custom factions, player-made towns, and the best no-mod vanilla experience. But a few days ago, things went completely off the rails.
Apparently, some kind of massive portal—which people are calling the "Ender Gate"—randomly appeared in-game, and through it, a bunch of hyper-realistic NPCs dressed like Romans marched through and started attacking player settlements. Like, full-on siege warfare.
And when I say “hyper-realistic,” I mean way too detailed for Minecraft. These NPCs have individual face animations, armor dents, actual combat formations, and worst of all? They bleed.
Like, wtf? Minecraft doesn’t do that.
This isn’t some resource pack. People have tried turning their textures back to default, and these “Romans” still look way too real.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
The first attack wiped out a couple of player towns, and since then, it’s been full-on war. Players have taken over the Ender Gate and pushed back against the NPCs, but these things are insanely coordinated. They don’t act like normal mobs or even standard AI. They fight back strategically, retreat when needed, reinforce positions, and even take prisoners.
Yes, prisoners.
A few players have deliberately let themselves get captured just to see what happens, and they’ve been stuck in fully modeled jail cells inside these Roman-style forts, where the NPCs talk to each other. Like actual dialogue.
At this point, people are trying to figure out if this is:
- Some insane new Mojang experiment (unlikely because Mojang doesn’t do anything this ambitious).
- A hidden update that somehow no one discovered before.
- The most elaborate ARG in Minecraft history.
- Some kind of AI-generated content experiment.
- A massive hack or custom mod that doesn’t show up in the server logs.
And yeah, before anyone asks, the server logs show no mods. None. Nothing was installed or changed. Everything happening is somehow just running on vanilla Minecraft.
What. The. Hell.
COMMENTS:
u/HistoricalNerd97
"They're NOT Romans. They look Byzantine. The armor, the formations, the banners—"
? u/JustBuildIt89
"Bro, nobody cares. They have swords, shields, and togas. They’re Romans."
? u/PhalanxFanatic
"Actually, the term ‘Romans’ could still apply because the Byzantines WERE technically Romans, but the game should have identified them as ‘Byzantines’ if this were coded in correctly."
? u/RandomMinecrafter42 (OP)
"Dude. That’s your issue? Not the fact that they BLEED?"
u/GameDevAnon
"There is NO WAY this is vanilla. None. The AI alone would require machine learning on a level that Minecraft just doesn’t support. Even NPC plugins don’t have this kind of dynamic response. You’re telling me these things are retreating, regrouping, and reinforcing themselves? That’s not just scripted AI behavior. That’s ADAPTIVE AI."
? u/FishToaster56
"But the mods already checked. There’s nothing installed on the server. It’s running pure vanilla."
? u/GameDevAnon
"Then someone at Mojang is doing some secret sht because this is NOT possible under normal circumstances."*
? u/ServerModKarl [Server Moderator]
"I can confirm that the server is 100% vanilla. We have been in direct contact with Mojang. They are as confused as we are."
? u/RandomMinecrafter42 (OP)
"Wait, wait, wait. You’re saying Mojang doesn’t know what’s going on?"
? u/ServerModKarl [Server Moderator]
"Correct. We’ve had multiple calls with Mojang’s tech team. They’re monitoring the server logs, and from what we can tell, the server isn’t running anything beyond what’s supposed to be in vanilla. No rogue code, no external scripts. Whatever is happening is happening within the game itself."
u/ConspiracyBlock
"Okay, hear me out: this is some next-level AI experiment by Microsoft. Think about it. AI that can behave dynamically in an open-world environment? What if they’re testing a new AI system INSIDE Minecraft because it’s the perfect simulation space?"
? u/StackOverflowError
"That’d be a cool theory if Microsoft actually knew how to develop AI that wasn’t Bing Chat-level garbage."
? u/ConspiracyBlock
"Fair point."
u/SteveMain234
"Forget the AI stuff. How the hell do you explain the bleeding?"
? u/RedstoneGod42
"Yeah, no Minecraft mob ‘bleeds.’ Even if you modify textures, it’s still just red pixels. But the footage from FactionBlock? The blood looks… real."
? u/PixelKnight7
"I saw one of the Roman NPCs get hit by a sword, and it flinched. Not like the normal hit animation. Like an actual pain reaction."
? u/NotchFanatic21
"We all agree that’s creepy as hell, right?"
u/SpookyTales45
"Has anyone else heard about the weird sht happening to some players? Like, some people are saying certain users haven’t logged off since the war started."*
? u/DogLover4000
"That’s probably just a bug. Maybe they left their game running."
? u/GamerNewsNow
"I saw a post on another forum where someone said they heard whispers in proximity chat when nobody else was around. Could just be a troll, but damn, that’s unsettling."
? u/RandomMinecrafter42 (OP)
"I keep seeing that rumor floating around, but nobody has actual proof. If someone has a clip, post it."
? u/EnderKnight11
"Even if it’s fake, let’s all agree that this entire thing is starting to feel like an actual horror movie."
u/MojangSupportOfficial [Mojang Representative]
"We are aware of the ongoing situation in the FactionBlock server and are actively investigating. At this time, we have no indication that this is an official update or sanctioned event. Please remain patient while we work to understand what is happening. Thank you."
? u/ServerModKarl [Server Moderator]
"Appreciate the response, but any idea what we should be telling players? Because right now, this is way beyond normal gameplay."
? u/MojangSupportOfficial [Mojang Representative]
"At this time, we cannot confirm anything beyond what has already been stated."
? u/StackOverflowError
"Translation: They have no clue what the hell is going on."
u/RandomMinecrafter42 (OP) - Edited
*"Alright, I started this thread hoping for some kind of answer, but after reading everything… yeah, we’re all confused. Whatever’s happening on FactionBlock is something new. Either it’s an insane AI experiment, a hack that doesn’t show up in the logs, or… something else entirely.
One thing’s for sure—this isn’t normal. And if you’re playing on FactionBlock, stay safe.
Because whatever is happening?
It’s just getting started."*
POV: Steve?
Building was my favorite thing.
I placed another oak plank onto the floor of our settlement, stepping back to admire the growing structure. The house was coming together nicely—a sturdy little home with stone walls and a wooden roof, just like I’d built a thousand times before. But this wasn’t just my house. There were so many people building with me!
I had never seen this many before!
There were people everywhere, chatting and stacking blocks, moving in a way that was similar to me but… different. Their motions were more deliberate, their heads turning with odd precision. They made strange sounds, a language I somehow understood even though I couldn’t make the noises myself. That was fine! I didn’t need to talk! I could build!
And building was fun.
I watched as a person named Ari walked up, placing blocks next to mine. She seemed concerned—her movements slower, almost hesitant. Was she sad? I didn’t know why, but I wanted her to feel better.
I stopped placing blocks for a moment and opened my inventory. Hmm… nothing special, just planks, cobblestone, torches… oh!
I selected a red flower and turned toward Ari, holding it out to her.
She froze, looking at the flower in my hand. I wiggled it a little, just in case she didn’t see it. She stared at me for a long time, and I tilted my head. Why wasn’t she taking it?
Slowly, she reached out, took the flower, and held it in her hand. Her mouth moved, making a sound.
“…Thanks, Steve.”
Oh! She liked it!
Happy, I gave a quick jump, then turned back to building.
I loved building.
For as long as I could remember, I had built things—houses, villages, castles, tunnels, whatever felt right. Sometimes I was alone, but other times, people like me showed up! We built together, explored together, fought off skeletons and zombies together.
But this place was different.
The ground wasn’t quite right—too smooth in some places, too jagged in others. The sky felt bigger, stretched too wide, and when the sun moved, it didn’t flicker between positions like I was used to. Instead, it rolled across the sky like a slow-moving minecart.
And the trees! The trees were the strangest part! When I punched them, they didn’t break properly. They shook, but didn't break and it hurt my hand. I didn’t like that. So I used an axe instead.
The others didn’t seem to notice how weird the world was. They were busy talking, moving around, stacking blocks in strange but interesting ways. I liked it!
Even though I couldn’t speak, I felt like I belonged here.
Ari wasn’t the only one who seemed unsure about me.
Some of the others glanced at me when they thought I wasn’t looking. Their movements slowed when I got too close, and sometimes, they would stand still for a long time, like they were thinking hard about something.
I didn’t understand.
I was just Steve.
I placed another block and looked over at the people. They were working hard—mining stone, chopping trees, placing torches to keep the monsters away. Some of them laughed, some of them shouted excitedly, and a few ran off into the woods on some adventure.
Adventures! I loved adventures!
Maybe if I followed them, I could see what they were doing! Maybe they were going into a cave! I loved caves! Or maybe—
“Steve?”
I turned back to see Ari watching me. She wasn’t building anymore. She was just standing there, looking… confused.
“Do you ever log off?” she asked.
Log off?
I tilted my head, not understanding. What was “log off”? It didn’t sound like something I could do. It wasn’t an item I could craft or a tool I could use.
Ari sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “Never mind,” she muttered. Then, after a moment, she looked at the flower I had given her and smiled a little.
That was good! She wasn’t sad anymore!
Satisfied, I went back to building.
Night came, and I did what I always did—I placed torches everywhere.
Torches were important. They kept the monsters away, made everything feel warm and safe. The other people did the same, lining the pathways with flickering yellow light. Some of them were setting up beds, others gathered near the crafting tables to sort their inventories.
I didn’t need a bed. I never had before!
Instead, I patrolled the walls, checking for any gaps or dark spots where zombies or skeletons might spawn. I had fought a lot of monsters before—creepers, spiders, even the Ender Dragon! But the monsters here felt… different.
I had seen the skeletons and zombies in the woods earlier, but they didn’t move like normal. They twitched, their bodies jerking in ways I didn’t like. And when they made sounds, it wasn’t the usual rattling of bones or groaning of the undead. It was… whispering.
I didn’t like that.
So I placed more torches.
The settlement was coming along beautifully!
The walls were almost finished, houses were popping up everywhere, and someone had even started digging out a mine. Everything felt like a real village, like the kind I had always wanted to build with people who stayed.
I had met lots of people before—ones who built for a while and then disappeared. Sometimes they left their houses behind, sometimes they took everything with them, but they never stayed forever.
But maybe this time would be different!
Maybe these people would stay!
I watched as a group of them gathered near a large table, placing down maps and talking excitedly. Their words blurred together, and I only caught pieces of what they were saying.
“…resources to expand…”
“…mapping the terrain…”
“…need more iron…”
Iron! I could help with that!
I checked my inventory. No iron. That was okay! I could go get some!
Excited, I turned toward the mine entrance, but before I could leave, I heard Ari talking to one of the others.
“I don’t know, man,” she was saying. “Something’s just… off about him.”
I stopped, tilting my head.
Were they talking about me?
“He’s been logged in since before the battle. No breaks, no logout. That’s not normal.”
“I mean, he’s Steve. Maybe the guy just really likes playing the character?”
“That’s what’s bothering me.”
Ari sounded worried. She shouldn’t be worried! Everything was fine!
I turned back, pulling another flower from my inventory. This one was yellow. Maybe if I gave her another, she would feel better again!
As I walked toward her, the world flickered for just a moment—just long enough to make my steps falter.
For the briefest second, I saw… something.
A shadow standing at the edge of the torchlight. Watching.
I turned my head sharply, but when I looked again, it was gone.
I blinked, confused.
Had it been a skeleton? A zombie? No… whatever it was, it had been tall- Taller than an Enderman.
Maybe it was nothing!
Shaking it off, I continued forward and held out the flower for Ari.
She sighed, taking it again. “You really like giving me flowers, huh?”
I jumped once in response. Yes! Flowers were nice!
She hesitated, then said, “…Thanks, Steve.”
I smiled (at least, I thought I did) and went back to building.
The world flickered again.
For just a second, I heard something whisper.
But I ignored it.
I had blocks to place.