"I only want what's best for you," Daniel responded.
Petra smiled faintly. "You've always wanted what's best for me. Thank you for letting me go."
"I don't want you to leave. There were still so many adventures for us to embark on together. Now that you won't be around, who else am I supposed to travel the world with?" Daniel asked.
"You're a smart man Daniel," Petra said, "you'll find someone. I'm sure of it."
"They're going to have big shoes to fill," Daniel said.
"Indeed—they will," Petra said as she smiled faintly once more, "thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend, Daniel."
Suddenly, the world around him began to morph into a new biome, a familiar one. Wooden planks, cobblestone, glass blocks, and stairs began flying around in the air, building small huts. A narrow gravel pathway appeared on the ground, replacing the green grass initially there. Villagers and Blockheads that Daniel knew began to populate the village.
"OasisVille?" Daniel questioned as he began walking towards the village that he and so many others once called home.
As he walked into OasisVille, familiar blockheads began smiling and waving at Daniel. Children were chasing each other around; farmers were tending to their crops, the blacksmith was forging new swords, armor, and other tools at his shop.
Daniel then looked over at the fountain in the center of the village. Standing by the fountain, with their back facing him, was a female blockhead. Daniel began scratching his head because he recognized her.
"Petra?" Daniel said as he began walking towards the female standing by the fountain. She was wearing an orange shirt and brown pants with black shoes. She had a red beanie hat on her head.
As he got closer to her, he held his hand out to grab her shoulder, but just before he did that, she turned around to look right at Daniel. Her face was grey and deformed, and her eyes were glowing a bright yellow.
"You did this!" Petra said, "you let me die!"
She began taking steps towards Daniel. He began backing away from her. But as he was backing up, he bumped into Henry. Henry turned around and reached out to try and grab Daniel.
"You're a coward!" One blockhead shouted.
"A traitor!" Another one said.
As he backed away from the swarm of blockheads he once knew, the world around him morphed into another location.
This place was dark. Very dark. Daniel couldn't see a single thing around him.
"Hello?" Daniel called out. His voice echoed endlessly.
"Daniel," a deep-sounding demonic voice responded, "so good to see you again."
A single lantern lit by Nightmare. In the near distance, sitting down in a wooden chair reading a book, was someone who Daniel knew all too well, Nightmare.
"Whatever you're doing to me, stop it!" Daniel snapped angrily at her. She slammed her book shut and set it down on the table next to her chair.
She turned her head all the way around until she was looking directly at Daniel. Her body then phased through the chair and turned around to match the direction her head was facing.
"You may have banished me, but your memory of me lives on inside of your head," Nightmare said, "as long as you remember, the longer I'll be around."
"Get out of my head!" Daniel shouted, "get out!"
Nightmare laughed sarcastically. "Demons do what demons do best," Nightmare said, "haunting blockheads, like yourself!"
There was a sudden knocking sound that was heard. That's when Daniel opened his eyes. There he was, alone in his cabin aboard his ship called the Dream Chaser.
Why did he choose that name you ask? After narrowly escaping the devastation the Golem Monster was causing to their former home, this ship was all he and his friends had left. The last remaining piece of what they used to call home.
The name Dream Chaser refers to the dream of finding a new island or land to call home. A place where they'll be safe, far from any danger. Hence, the name Dream Chaser.
It's officially been eight days since they said goodbye to their home, boarded the ship and escaped. Trying to stay and fight the Golden Monster wouldn't have been a wise thing to do. This was the only way Daniel could ensure his Kingdom and his friends' future stayed alive.
He sat up in his bed, looking around his empty cabin. In the middle of the room, hanging from the ceiling was a single lantern. In it, a small flame was burning.
As the ship rocked from side to side, the lantern swung from side to side. At the back of his cabin, a wide window was visible. All that could be seen was a vast, dark blue ocean. The three massive sails' shadows were seen on the surface of the water.
Daniel got up from his bed, realizing just how alone he was. Sitting over by the window was a small wooden table and a wooden chair. Resting on the table's surface was a small red book. Tucked underneath the book was white sheet of paper. The only words visible on the paper were Dear Daniel.
On the right side of the cabin, there were bookshelves filled with books that Daniel still has yet to read. Hanging on the wall next to his bed was a painting of him and Petra from many years ago.
In the painting, Daniel was holding a diamond sword, while Petra was holding her golden sword. They both had bright smiles on their faces. They looked happy. Friends for life, right? At least Daniel still has that painting to remember her. It was a motivational possession to have handy. It was a sign of hope.
Daniel quickly glanced at the painting. He sighed heavily.
"You sure are missing out, Petra," Daniel said, "remember the good ol' days?"
As he stood there staring at the painting, Petra's voice was heard right behind him. He quickly turned around. There she was, sitting in his desk chair looking over at Daniel.
"I sure do," Petra said, "remember when that squirrel kept throwing nuts at you?"
Petra began laughing, slapping her leg once. Daniel frowned and crossed his arms. He huffed and puffed.
"How could I forget?" Daniel said, "and they didn't stop. They just kept on throwing them. Is my head just a practicing target for them or something?"
"Or what about that time you thought there was a zombie in the bushes, but it actually turned out to be a chicken?" Petra said.
"That's not funny, Petra!" Daniel said, "I was really scared."
"Bacawk!" Petra said as she began flapping her arms like chicken's did with their wings. "You're a scaredy-cat! C'mon... just admit it."
Daniel rolled his eyes dramatically and smiled faintly. He couldn't be mad about anything. All Petra was trying to do was cheer him up. So far, it was working. Daniel couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. He began laughing hysterically.
"I was a scaredy-cat once," Daniel mentioned, "but that was a long time ago."
"How can you be so certain you're not a scaredy-cat anymore?" Petra asked.
The door to Daniel's cabin suddenly opened. In came Romeo. Daniel turned his head and looked over at Romeo.
"Everything okay here?" Romeo asked, "I heard you talking and just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Daniel nodded his head three times. "Yes I'm fine."
Romeo raised one eyebrow at Daniel. "You sure?"
"Yes," Daniel responded.
"Okay good," Romeo said, "you might want to come out on deck and see what's going on."
"I'll be right out," Daniel replied.
"Alrighty," Romeo said as he began backing up, closing the door to Daniel's cabin. Once he was all alone once more, Daniel glanced over at his desk and chair. But instead of Petra sitting in the chair, the chair was empty. She wasn't there anymore.
"Where'd you go?" Daniel asked, becoming very quiet after asking Petra that question. He waited for a moment for a response. Nothing. She didn't answer his question.
He sighed heavily as he walked over to his desk to look down at the book and the piece of paper. Daniel went to gently pull the sheet of paper out from under the book, but hesitated.
It was the letter Petra had written for him awhile back. To this very day, he hasn't read it. Even just looking at it, brought back that horrible memory. It felt like it had just happened yesterday. But it's been far longer than that.
After debating whether or not to pick the letter up, he decided not to read it. He wasn't ready to read it yet. What's holding him back? Why is he so hesitant about reading it?
He turned around and walked away from the desk. Daniel walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. From there, he pulled the door open and walked outside.
He was instantly met with sudden chaos. There was a little boy running frantically around in circles, waving his hands all around in the air. Another two blockheads had fishing nets in their hands, waiting patiently for the right time to throw them.
The boy was running around in a circle because there was a small, pink octopus stuck to his face. The octopuses' tentacles were wrapped around the boy's head.
"Someone help me!" Then, the boy shouted, "there's an octopus stuck to my face!"