Read part 2 first!



And then it froze. Pinned to its spot, its owner also unnaturally still, his face frozen in a grotesque grimace. A gargoyle of flesh and blood. The very fabric of the universe rippled, and then imploded in a burst of miniscule numbers. Ones and zeros. Collapsing inwards in a cascade of code. The endless matrix of numbers, once unseen, now visible. And from the digits a face was chiselled. It was bearded, wise, ancient and powerful. A primeval elder, forged of code. Steve stared in awe as the most guarded secrets of his world came to light in this shimmering hologram. Then the apparition parted its jaws, and uttered an explanation. It was Java. And he was Notch. "Steve," Notch boomed. "Yes?" Came Steve's fearful, shaky reply. "I have need of you, Steve. That is why I have brought you here. To the arena." Steve questioned Notch, slightly angry: "But didn't the monsters capture me? If you really did bring me here, why should I help you?" The primeval compilation of Java responded swiftly. "They did indeed drag you from your home, but I led them to you. There is a task that only you can accomplish." Steve pondered this, confused, and thrust forth a question. "If you are indeed so powerful as to control the monsters, to twist the fate of the world around your finger, why can't you solve it yourself?" Notch answered with a sigh, gazing forlornly through the matrix of endless script. "I have tried. Many times. Listen to me, Steve. For every ten lines of Java here, on digit is corrupt. Together, these digits form an entity. It cannot be destroyed or reshaped by any external program. It must be destroyed from within, and I reside without. This monstrous entity is the Arena Master. I cannot remove him, I cannot delete him, I cannot change him. Out here, he goes by a different name. In my world, his name is Herobrine. He is my counterpart, my rival. I cannot defeat him. But you can." Steve, overwhelmed with a sense of dizziness, rose unsteadily to his feet. "How?" He asked timidly. Notch extended an arm constructed of digits, and waved it through the grid of Java. The code rippled. "I can shape your world," He answered. "I will guide you. Now, you must return to your world, and I must return to mine. But before I do, I can present you with a token of my trust. I believe in you, Steve. You were born of my work, you and I are one through space and time." And with these final words, the holographic image of Javascript dissolved, along with the entire grid, cascading and reshaping until it formed a familiar landscape. The arena. Steve collapsed to his hands and knees, abruptly vomiting into the coarse sand. "How can this be!?" The Arena Master screeched. Steve rose in confusion, still slightly retching, and gasped in astonishment. Upon the sands before him lay a glittering sword.

To be continued...