*five years later*
Ty's POV
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Jason and Kermit sang - well, more like shouted.
"AND MANY MORE!" Jason added.
I blew out the candles on the cake, grinning.
"I can't believe you're finally double digits!" Kermit exclaimed. He and Jason were both already ten, but Jason's birthday was in June, and Kermit's in July. I was the youngest out of the three of us.
"I don't get why humans make such a big deal out of it, though," I frowned. "Like, you're leaving childhood behind. Isn't that sad?"
"I guess..." Jason replied.
"But at least you get presents!" Kermit exclaimed, throwing a few boxes on the table in front of me.
My dad had given me a headset earlier, made out of obidian and glowing green gems. I don't think I'm ever taking it off.
"Open mine first!" Jason exclaimed.
"Hey!" Kermit protested, elbowing Jason. "You mean our presents!"
"We made these for you," Jason nodded, putting emphasis on the "we" and glaring at Kermit.
They both handed me two long, slender boxes. I tore the wrapping off the first box to reveal a bow that practically shone in the light, well-polished and enchanted. A leather quiver lay next to it, with ten arrows inside.
"We asked the village sorcerer to enchant it for us," Jason explained. "It's got Power III, Flame I, and Infinity I! So you'll only ever need one arrow!"
"That's amazing!" I exclaimed, lifting the bow out of the box. It was the perfect size, too; not too large, not too small either.
"And here!" Kermit added, pushing the other box closer to me. I ripped the wrapping paper off and pulled the lid off.
Inside was a shining, brand-new obsidian sword.
"Whoa..." I murmured. "This is beautiful!"
"Do you like it?" Kermit asked. "This took Jason and me hours to make."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked, and their faces fell a bit. "I love it! Thanks so much, guys!" I exclaimed, squeezing them both in a hug.
"Ow - " Jason protested. "Let - go - "
"Sorry!" I apologized, dropping both of them. "But these gifts are awesome!"
Jason and Kermit both grinned, their smiles reaching from ear to ear.
"The sun's going down!" Kermit said, his eyes widening. "We need to go! Now!"
I picked up my new sword and bow, and the three of us booked it.
We had had my birthday "party" in the treehouse we'd built almost five years ago, but we had expanded it over the last five years. Now, Kermit had been adopted by another family who lived in the village, and we'd built Jason a proper house with the help of my dad. It was hidden in the side of the mountain so that no one would find it. Jason doesn't want anyone to find out what he can do.
We needed to get home soon. Recently, there had been reports of glowing white eyes appearing in the woods more and more often, and the amount of mobs in the forest at night has gone up - a lot. Night had become more dangerous.
Jason's house was on the way back to the village, and we arrived there first, all of us out of breath.
"Good night," he whispered, ducking down to enter the secret door into his house.
Kermit and I continued on to the village, and went our separate ways from there.
I arrived at my house, slipping through the front door and closing it quietly behind me. A flickering light came from the kitchen, so I went to go check it out.
My dad sat at the table, hammering some diamonds together to create a pickaxe.
"Hey, little buddy," he grinned, gesturing for me to sit down next to him. "Sorry I was busy all day. How was your birthday?"
"Great," I replied. "Thanks for the presents."
"No problem," my dad answered, setting his tools down and putting an arm around me. "It's your special day, after all."
I watched him work in silence for a bit, then he stood up, walking over to the kitchen cabinet. "Tyler, do you know where you came from?"
"Yeah..." I said, tilting my head to the side. "I'm from the End, right?"
"Yes, you are," he said, grabbing a glowing gemstone. "You aren't my real son. But I've taken care of you as my own ever since that day."
He dropped the jewel into my hands. "This is from that day. Your brother threw it to you when you were fatally injured, but this seemed to heal you. I put two pieces of it in your new headset."
My hands automatically flew up to my headset, reaching up to touch the green glowing jewels on the sides. The jewel spread a warm, light feeling through me, as if it was healing me.
"You also would've had a mother..." he continues quietly. "She died during that fight..."
My mind goes back to that fight, to when my brother and I watched from the safety of the tower. I remember an Enderman picking a young woman up and throwing her off the island, into the void...
"Anyways, you'd better get to sleep," my dad said, motioning towards my bedroom upstairs.
"Fine," I sighed, climbing up the creaky wooden steps and collapsing on my bed.
With that, I fell into a dreamless sleep.
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*a few hours later*
A scream in the distance woke me up, causing me to bolt out of bed abruptly.
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. 4:30 A.M. What could someone be doing awake at this time?
Then I realized that the floor's unusually hot.
I rushed downstairs, only to find my suspicions confirmed. The whole downstairs of my house was on fire.
"Dad! Dad!" I shrieked as a burning log fell behind me.
He might be my adopted father, but there was no way I'm letting him die. I've already lost my brother. I didn't need to lose him too.
The rest of the pathway was blocked off, so I had no choice but to leave.
What I saw outside frightened me even more. Practically the entire town was ablaze. People were screaming left and right, being struck down by some invisible force that I couldn't see.
Worst of all, my father was leaning against the wall of my burning house, sword in hand, blood running down his chest from a huge stab wound. The blood was already dry, which probably meant he died a while ago.
My heart felt heavier. He was already dead. And I couldn't have done anything to save him.
Jason! Kermit! Are they okay?
The thought popped into my head, and I got up, leaving my father's corpse, running down the street to Kermit's house.
Nothing. It wasn't standing anymore. The house had caved in on itself, leaving behind a pile of burning wood.
There was no time for me to check Jason's house in the woods, but if Kermit was still alive, he would definitely be there.
The flames had started to die down, leaving me to see what was left of the small town. No buildings were still standing. Bodies lay everywhere, and blood ran in the streets.
I was alone.
Someone had deliberately wiped out my entire town, leaving me the sole survivor.
Who had done this, and why?
Suddenly, a white blur appeared in front of me, solidifying into a young boy, who was around my age.
He wore a jacket in varying shades of gray, matching pants and gloves, red sneakers, and a gold and purple amulet. His curly hair was messed up. But the most terrifying thing about him wasn't that he held a knife, pointed directly at my face.
No, his eyes glowed pure white. Purely evil.
"Who are you?" I growled, extending my claws and wings. Too late.
The boy smiled evilly, tilting his head to the side. "Call me Skybrine, Ender."
He lunged at my neck, grabbing me and holding the knife to my throat.
What happened next? Well, let's just say that from then on, my life has been one huge, great adventure.
Which brings me to today.
Today, I'm part of the Royal Army, and friends with the boy who tried to kill me when we were ten. I've met new people, gone on more adventures, and defeated the one who destroyed my village.
Soon, a new adventure will begin.
Isn't it exciting?
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A/N: This is the last "flashback" chapter! So the real story starts next chapter.
In case you didn't get it, the ending of this chapter starts the beginning of the first chapter of Evil Hero.
Oh, and for those of you wondering how Flashlight Eyes is doing, he's coming back in a few chapters :)
Hope you enjoyed!
~Anna