零** (Chapter Zero)
eng: A cruel world
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"A skeleton. A wither skeleton. Two worlds that cannot cross no matter the circumstance."
Wither skeletons were once just normal skeletons. However, it was never certain how a normal skeleton became a sinister wither skeleton overnight.
Then, there were strays. Strays weren't considered to be normal skeletons, but they weren't considered sinister either. Strays were believed to be once normal skeletons that tried to cross into the Nether, only to have gotten lost in this cold and unforgiving biome of ice and snow. "
"...And, there we have it. This is the legend of our ancestors."
"Wait!" A skeleton, quite small for his age exclaims, "But we're not considered strays... Yet we've been trapped in this freezing biome for almost a year!"
"That's what we're concerned about, young one," Elder says, standing up from his small, handmade chair, "If this keeps up, our bones will end up freezing; and ultimately, crack every so slowly."
A few gasps rang out from the small circle of young skeletons. "What'll happen if our bones start to freeze, Elder?"
"..." Elder stays silent for a moment, his eyes darkening ever so slightly, "I'm afraid that if that occurs, our race of skeletons will be no more. We are normal skeletons; we can't handle the cold. We need to find a way to escape this cold. Our bones are already starting to retain a light-blue hue."
The small skeleton looked down at his small hand, tracing a small blotch of light blue.
Many of the small children shivered, their bones shaking due to the force of their trembles. Almost a year has passed, and nothing has been done.
Elder starts to head back to his cabin. He takes shaky steps through the cold. It's been so long since he's felt warmth.
"Elder!" The small skeleton calls out. Elder stops in his tracks to face the youthful skeleton. The small skeleton's eyes glimmered in determination.
"We can't keep sitting around here. It's too cold for us to survive much longer. We need to leave this place!"
"We've tried, young one," Elder whispers, "But we've lost a lot of our family from doing so. We need to stick together to succumb to this cold."
"Our family is suffering," the young skeleton whispers, his tremble not going unnoticed by Elder, "We need to leave."
Elder looks at the youth before him. "You, young one," Elder croaks out, "You may be the one after all."
"H-Huh?"
Elder walks away at that, leaving the young skeleton confused.
The skeleton looks back at his family, his friends, all the people that he grew up with. They were all huddled together, shivering. Many were too weak to even stand.
I have to do something. He thinks, holding in a shiver. He looks back at his family one last time before entering the forest, determined to find something that could help his family survive. A stray sheep for wool, anything.
He didn't realize he'd never actually get to see them again— because that night, a powerful blizzard howled. The family he once knew was nothing more than the empty and frigid air.
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