The Obsidian

The obsidian began to wither away, slowly but surely. Whether the test was of CharacterB’s love for her or his pickaxe, the job was to be done. The only thing pushing him forward now was the slight crack and hiss as the obsidian shattered beneath the power of his metal, powered by the only thing that he could ever want: his CharacterA. Water flowed into every crack of the stone, seething out the next path CharacterB would mine. The bubbling magma burped at every move he made, almost taunting him.

“Is this the last block you mine? Is this the last breath she’ll take?” it hissed. It all melted together into CharacterB’s mind, but nothing could deter him from the lost; nothing except the dangers that stared him right in the eyes, the danger that took a slight breath of air before taking a long hiss and exploding.

The Day Before

“Hey CharacterB, could you hand me some food?” CharacterA said, “I’m getting kinda hungry here.”

“Sure.” He handed her a loaf of bread and continued on his way, depleting the remainder of the minerals from the cavernous expanse before following his partner down another twisting arm of the cave. The gleaming gems pierced the darkness that impeded their travel. CharacterB slapped down a torch on the wall and did the usual protocol: check the surroundings for any danger, and then proceed to mine the ores that adorned the cave’s walls. He glanced over at CharacterA who was reluctantly placing other torches along the floor, assuring that not a bit of dark space was left behind.

He turned around and returned to his usual mine torch check mine torch pattern. Much of his previous success in his world had been from CharacterA. He would not know what to do if he lost her. She would be gone, forever. He wondered if she thought the same about him. Eventually they had depleted this portion of the cave and wandered off into the labyrinth that was the cave. They might have been lost, but that wasn’t on their minds. Their goal was glorious diamonds, shining deep within the caverns, eluding many who tumble into the pits. Their sleek blue shine, only matched by the less lustrous lapis, pricks the dark, reveling what is left after the bubbling magma clears the darkness. Luckily for the couple, CharacterA and CharacterB knew the techniques of diamond mining. It was as if their lives were meant for the task.

“Hey CharacterB, my pick has just broken, would you have a spare?” He glanced over at the pickaxe-less CharacterA. A frown drew across her face as she fumbled with the shattered parts that were her pick. Bits of the shaft, shattered chunks of diamond, and bits of metal shrapnel that bound the other two pieces together were all that remained. CharacterB looks at the mess too and a similar frown fell upon his face.

“Well, we can’t have my CharacterA without

...