Minecraft Universe, Blocky Planet
"Welcome to Imperial Diamond!" The player called out again. "I'm Greyvest, but everyone calls me Grey!"
Adrian jumped down from his perch and used a water bucket to soften his fall. The Netherite-clad player stepped back.
"Nice armor." Grey nodded at Adrian's matching Netherite set. "You must be new here. I patrol this sector, and I've never seen you before."
"Just arrived." Adrian glanced back at the city. "The scale is... impressive."
Grey gestured toward the city gates. "We get new players every day, but not many arrive with full Netherite already."
Adrian followed him toward the massive quartz walls. "I've been in this world for a while. Just never made it out this far before."
"Where you from?"
"New Haven."
"Ah, that's very far!" Grey waved to the guards at the gate. "Heard they got hit by raiders recently."
The gates opened wide, powered by redstone machinery.
"Want a tour?" Grey placed down two minecarts on the powered rails leading into the city. "Nothing beats seeing Imperial Diamond for the first time from street level."
Adrian nodded and climbed into one of the carts. The redstone beneath them pulsed, and they shot forward.
"We've got different districts," Grey explained as they zoomed past the outer walls. "Financial, residential, shopping, arena - you name it, we built it."
"How do you keep track of everyone?" Adrian watched a player in diamond armor haggle in a shop over enchanted books.
"Name tags help." Grey pointed up at the floating text above each player's head. "But mostly we've got different guilds and districts. Makes things organized."
Their carts turned onto a wider rail system. More carts joined them from connecting tracks, carrying players between the massive quartz and concrete structures. Signs marked different stations like "Diamond District", "Redstone Quarter", "Trading Plaza."
"Look up there." Grey gestured toward a glass walkway spanning between two skyscrapers. A small purple shape flew past the windows. "That's Whisperlady's dragon. One of the only tamed ones left in the city."
Adrian's eyes locked onto the creature. "Dragon?"
"Yeah, from the Ender Dragon eggs. They can hatch into companions and breathe little purple magic orbs." Grey shrugged. "Status symbol more than anything useful. Most got killed in PvP."
Their carts clattered onto a new track heading toward what looked like a coliseum made of stone bricks and nether quartz.
"This is where we hold our weekly events," Grey explained as the carts slowed to a stop. "PvP tournaments, build competitions, mob arena battles… but the big draw happens every Friday."
Players crowded the entrance, many wearing colorful leather armor with guild emblems. A large board displayed upcoming events in bold text.
"FRIDAY NIGHT: ENDER DRAGON RAID - 15 STACKS EMERALDS ENTRY FEE."
Adrian stepped out of his cart. "You fight the Dragon every week?"
"It respawns like clockwork." Grey led him through the crowd. "But the real prize is the egg. Only drops once per kill, and everyone wants one."
Inside the coliseum, wooden stands surrounded a central arena. Target dummies lined one wall while players practiced bow shots. Others sparred with swords on concrete blocks.
A commotion drew Adrian's attention to the far side. Two players squared off in full Netherite, while above them...
"Watch this," Grey pointed upward.
A small purple dragon, no larger than a wolf, circled the arena. Purple particles trailed behind as it swooped down and spat a miniature purple ball at one of the fighters. The orb exploded harmlessly, but the crowd cheered.
Adrian watched the dragon closely. The way it moved, the void energy in the little attack...
"How many eggs are there?"
"Thirty-two total in our territory since people first got stuck here." Grey counted on his fingers. "Maybe five still exist as pets. Rest got destroyed in PvP or stored away in Ender Chests. Nobody wants to risk losing them."
"And the Dragon itself?"
"Nasty piece of work, not at all what you'd expect from Minecraft." Grey shuddered. "Takes coordinated teams with maxed gear just to bring it down."
Adrian nodded slowly. "When's the next raid?"
"Two days." Grey gestured at the event board. "But you'll need those fifteen stacks of emeralds just to enter the stronghold. Council's rules, keeps things a bit more calm and funds the city."
A player in diamond armor rushed past them, shouting about enchanted books for sale in the market district.
"Fifteen stacks..." Adrian glanced at his inventory. Forty-two. Not even close.
"Hey, I know that look." Grey crossed his arms. "Don't even think about sneaking in. We've got guards at every Imperial Diamond Stronghold entrance within fifty thousand blocks. And the End portal room? Obsidian walls twenty blocks thick."
The small dragon above them swooped low, releasing another burst of void energy at a practice dummy. Adrian watched the purple particles dissipate.
"What about the End itself?" Adrian kept his voice casual. "Once you get through a portal, I mean. Ever explored out there?"
"Sure, lots of us have. End cities are great for loot runs." Grey pointed at his Netherite chestplate. "Got my first elytra that way. But the main Dragon island is locked down tight during non-raid days. Force fields or something."
Adrian frowned. That was annoying.
"Look," Grey pulled out a map. "If you want to join a raid properly, I can show you the best emerald trading routes. Maybe hook you up with some villager contacts-"
"DRAGON SIGHTING!" Someone screamed loudly from the coliseum walls. "WHISPERLADY'S COMPANION SPOTTED NEAR MARKETPLACE! ALL HUNTERS CONVERGE!"
"Not again," Grey muttered. "Fifth attempt this week."
Above them, Whisperlady's dragon screeched and flew higher, purple particles trailing behind as it fled toward the market district.
"Dragon hunters," Grey explained. "They think killing a tamed dragon might drop another egg. Never works, but they keep trying."
Adrian watched a team using Elytras fly after the fleeing creature. Such a waste. Even if he caught it, a simple pet wouldn't have the Essence he needed if it didn't drop anything...
No, he needed the real thing. The Ender Dragon itself.
"What about Dragon Heads?" Adrian turned back to Grey as the commotion in the market district grew louder. "From End Ships?"
Grey shook his head. "Good luck finding those anymore. Most End Cities within fifty thousand blocks have been stripped clean even if they get restocked every month. Next time is actually also in two days."
"Monthly restocks aren't enough?"
"Not with more than ten thousand players." Grey pulled out a piece of paper and started sketching a rough map. "See, Imperial Diamond claims everything in this 50k block radius. Beyond that? Other major cities, all with their own Ender Dragon Islands."
Adrian studied the map. "So the closest unlooted End Ships would be..."
"Millions of blocks out, probably. Nobody knows whether this world is really infinite, and whether that means the amount of players are also infinite. If there are players literally everywhere… there might not be an unlooted End Ship in existence." Grey erased part of his drawing. "Most people keep Dragon Heads in Ender Chests now. Especially since we discovered they can be useful."
"Useful how?"
"Remember those weird dragon-like mobs that started appearing a few months back?" Grey lowered his voice. "Really rare modded spawns, but they drop these crystalline scales. Combine those with a Dragon Head and you can make either a Helm or Staff."
A player in full diamond armor rushed past, shouting about dragon hunters in the market square.
"What do the Helm and Staff do?"
"The helm makes Endermen completely ignore you unless attacked. Plus night vision and immunity to levitation effects, and it's stronger than Netherite too."
Adrian nodded slowly. "And the staff?"
"Lets you teleport without pearls or any cooldowns, thirty-two blocks max. Also shoots concentrated Dragon breath."
Adrian stared out at the city skyline. With his Void Step, distance meant nothing in the End. No water to block him, no solid matter to navigate around…
Just endless void and scattered islands.
"Hey." Grey waved a hand in front of Adrian's face. "You zoned out there."
"Just thinking." Adrian turned back to his guide. "These End Ships... they appear randomly throughout the End, right?"
"Yeah, attached to End Cities. But like I said, good luck finding-"
"What's the furthest anyone's ever gone?"
Grey scratched his head. "That we know of? Maybe a million blocks? Takes forever even with Elytra. And you need stupid amounts of rockets, food, backup gear..."
Adrian smiled. A million blocks. Such a tiny distance compared to what he could cover. No need for rockets or supplies when he could simply teleport billions, trillions, and even more blocks instantly.
"Thanks for the tour." Adrian stepped away from the coliseum railing. "I should get going."
"Already?" Grey looked surprised. "But we haven't even seen the shopping district! Or the farms! Or-"
"I'll be back in two days." Adrian started walking toward the city gates. "For the Dragon raid."
"But you don't have the emeralds for entry!"
Adrian kept walking. He didn't need emeralds, he would just force his way inside no matter what. Especially not when he could maybe find his own Ender Dragon Island first.
"At least let me show you where to find some good villager trades!" Grey called after him.
But Adrian had already disappeared into the crowd.
No known player had ever explored more than a million blocks out. But what about ten million? A hundred million? A billion?
The End went on forever. And he could cross that forever in moments.
Derflinger shifted slightly on his back. "I know that look. You're planning something crazy."
"Not crazy." Adrian grinned. "Just ambitious."
He waited until he reached the outskirts of Imperial Diamond. The moment no other players were in sight, he focused on the connection to the End.
Purple particles swirled around him as reality twisted. The blocky world vanished, replaced by endless darkness.
He stood on an End island covered in Chorus trees. The pale endstone beneath his feet resonated with the crystal organ inside him. Here in the End, the connection felt stronger than ever.
"So what's the plan?" Derflinger asked from his back. "Just teleport randomly until we find something?"
"No." Adrian stared at the black horizon. "We go where no player has ever gone before."
The crystal organ pulsed with power. Adrian gathered void energy around himself and...
VWORP
They appeared on another island. The previous one was completely gone, hidden beyond the darkness of the void.
"How far was that?" Derflinger sounded impressed.
"About ten million blocks." Adrian prepared for another jump. "Not nearly far enough."
VWORP
Another island. More Chorus trees. No cities yet.
"A hundred million now." Adrian prepared himself. "Still too close to civilization."
VWORP
VWORP
VWORP
Each jump took them further into the infinite End. One billion blocks. Ten billion. A hundred billion.
"This is insane!" Derflinger shouted after the twentieth jump. "We must be further than anyone has ever-"
"Wait." Adrian crouched low on the endstone. "Look."
An End City was in front of them. And there, floating beside the highest tower... an End Ship. But he sighed as soon as he spotted the cobblestone bridge leading up to the vessel.
Someone had already been here.
"A hundred trillion blocks." Adrian shook his head. "We're a hundred trillion blocks from Imperial Diamond, and someone still got here first."
"How?" Derflinger asked. "That's... that's impossible!"
"Maybe from another city." Adrian stood up. "Or maybe..."
He stared into the darkness. The End stretched forever in every direction. And if the End was infinite, then the Overworld must be too. Which meant...
"There must be infinite players." Adrian's voice was quiet. "Scattered across an infinite world. And they've all been exploring, building, fighting..."
"So no matter how far we go..."
"We might never find an untouched End Ship." Adrian gathered void energy again. "Unless..."
VWORP
A quadrillion blocks.
VWORP
A quintillion.
VWORP
Numbers beyond human comprehension. Distance that made light years seem tiny.
Each time they appeared on a new island, Adrian searched for End Cities. Some had blocks all over them. Others didn't have that, but the Elytra and Ender Dragon Head had already been taken.
"More." Adrian pushed himself further. "We go until we find one."
VWORP
VWORP
VWORP
The void energy flowed endlessly through him. In this End dimension full of the Void, he had no limits to how far he could travel.
"There has to be one somewhere," Adrian muttered. "In an infinite space..."
VWORP
Another island. Another looted city.
VWORP
He had traveled so far that galaxies were like grains of sand in comparison.
"Adrian." Derflinger spoke quietly. "Stop."
VWORP
"We need to stop."
Adrian prepared another teleport, but Derflinger's words finally registered. He lowered his arms and stared at the empty End Ship before them.
"The chances of finding an untouched ship..." Derflinger sighed. "Even in an infinite space, we'd need infinite time to search."
Adrian sat down on the endstone. "There has to be a way."
"Maybe there is." Derflinger shifted on Adrian's hip. "The Dragon raid is in two days, right? And you plan to join no matter what?"
"Yes." Adrian clenched his fists. "Even if I have to force my way in."
"The End Ships restock that same day." Derflinger said. "And we know exactly where many of them are."
Adrian stood up slowly as he realized what Derflinger meant.
"The raid will take time," Derflinger continued. "They'll be focused on the Dragon. Meanwhile, we could teleport to every known End Ship location and collect the Dragon Heads before anyone else reaches them."
"And then join the Dragon fight..." Adrian smiled. "Get both the heads and a shot at the egg."
"Exactly!" Derflinger exclaimed. "You just need to memorize the locations of a bunch of End Ships."
Adrian gathered void energy around himself. "Then we better start scouting."
VWORP
He could confidently say that he had traveled further than the length of the observable universe at this point.
Two days. He had two days to learn of as many End Ship locations as he could, plan his route, and prepare for both looting and Dragon-slaying. The corners of his mouth curved into a predatory smile.
He was looking forward to becoming the first Draconic Primal Zerg.