11's Return

Since the first incident, I decided to leave the server. I was shaken by the episode, but managed to shrug it off. I now play on another server. Now, my choice not to include the server's IP address or name has been fully validated.

Yesterday, I was playing on the server I was talking about. As the familiar message popped up, my stomach fell.

"11 has joined the game!"

I swore aloud, hit escape, and clicked "disconnect."

I decided I needed a break and opened up a survival singleplayer world. I wandered around a while, clearing out some old abandoned mineshafts I had found.

I heard a crackling sound behind me. I turned around.

"11 has joined the game!"

I slightly jumped out of my seat. I rationalized it to myself, thinking it was probably just the computer repeating an earlier message.

I glanced around again and saw nothing too unusual. I continued to mine, and although I tried to forget, the memory stuck with me the whole time. After a while, the earlier experience seemed almost dreamlike. Did it even happen? Or was I just imagining it, shaken by my original encounter with 11?

As I broke away cobwebs, I heard the crackling again.

I saw the blocks in front of me turn to packed ice.

11: Why are you doing this?

I turned around. 11 was standing there. The ice behind him was slowly spreading. I noticed that it was making a pattern.

Smiling faces.

11: Water.

"What?" I wondered aloud.

11: I am water.

11: There is flame. There is shadow. There is light. There is air. There is earth.

11: I am water.

I quit the game. I was done.

I opened up Hyper Light Drifter. At least he couldn't find me there. I played for an hour, no problem.

Then a huge smiling face appeared out of the water. It was made of crystal.

A voice came out of my headphones. "Why are you trying to run? There is nowhere to go."

I tore them off my ears. 11's voice poured out of the speakers. "I am everywhere, insolent child." Terrified and exhausted, I shut down Hyper Light Drifter and the laptop. I went to bed.

That night, I dreamed of smiling faces of crystal shards.