The sun is bright. Too bright.

And it's quiet.

I open my eyes to a spruce forest. It feels like an eternity before I finally sit up and survey my surroundings.

No more than six blocks from where I sit, the world opens up it's maw to show a huge cave with spikes and glowing greenery. It takes me by surprise, the cave was nothing like what I'd seen before. Had I seen this before? Now that I think about it, I can't really remember anything. It doesn't feel right. So, I rummage through my inventory for any clues.

Five shulker boxes. And a notebook inside one of them.

A notebook! Yes! I plop down the shulker, opening it up quickly. I grab the notebook from inside, opening it up.

Blank pages. Dang it.

I hesitate on the pages. This doesn't feel right. I set the notebook down and rummage through the other shulkers for any more info.

There's some purple-dyed leather armor, but nothing else. I don the armor quickly, aware that the sun will set eventually. I might not remember a things, but I know how this world works. I hurry over to a tree and punch it down, gearing up with stone tools, a crafting bench, and a tiny shelter to sit in for the night. I place the notebook back in it's shulker, before stepping towards the large cave. I don't recognize a lot of what's inside, but the ache in my bones say it's a new update. I don't want to question the devs, so I decide to explore.

A stream of water, coming from the direction of what sounds like the river, falls into a pool at the base of the cave, so I ride it down. As I look around, the little voice in my head tells me the area is called a lush cave. Glowing berries hang from the ceiling, and small pools of water litter the ground. In the near distance I can see stalagmites and what the voice tells me is deepslate. It's beautiful, honestly. Little creatures - axolotls, says the voice - swim around my feet excitedly, like water puppies. I wade past them, further into the cave. I can hear mobs, so I make a goal of getting some iron before leaving for the night.

The ore is easy to find, although the second my pick made contact with the last of it, I hear an arrow shoot past my ear. I whip around just in time to see the death screen appear(a bolt of fear strikes me to the core for a solid second before I notice the respawn button. I don't understand why).

I bolt up back at spawn. The armor is still on. /Gamerule Keep Inventory True, the voice tells me. However, I must've dropped the iron right before I died in that cave as it's nowhere to be found. I groan internally.

---

I forgot how annoying skeletons are. About four deaths later, I escaped from the cave with my precious iron. Somewhere along the way, I ended up with some glowing ink sacs and a couple feathers. I wonder what to do next.

The feathers are heavy in my hand, feeling familiar, somehow. I look at the feathers, the ink, and then the crafting table. Almost in a trance, I retrieve the notebook from it's shulker and attach the newly created quill.

That feels correct. The notebook is definitely mine.

I put it into my inventory. It feels too cold here, too dead. The cave is beautiful, but it doesn't feel like home. I find myself wandering a little, my feet carrying me to the river.

I kneel down, and for the first time, I see myself.

I pull off the leather armor. My eyes are violet, my hair is honey blonde and reaches my waist. I'm wearing black leggings, brown combat boots, and a baggy lavender sweater that for some odd reason only has one arm.

It's me, I know it's me.

I...

"..."

"My name is... Star."

My voice is cracked and dry, and I'm startled by it. Yeah. I'm Star. I'm Star, and I like the color purple, and I have a notebook. That's all I know.

Then, I see the scar on my shoulder. It's grey, instead of pink. A scar you get from Hardcore.

My last world must've been hardcore then. It sparks a memory, something I was told a long time ago.

When you die, you open your eyes to the void, reaching out to touch a new beginning. A new world will await you. Death may take away everything you've built and discovered, but it cannot take away the memories.

Dying in this world is only the end of a chapter. You will simply begin the next one.

So, if my last world was one of Hardcore, why did I wake up with nothing but five shulker boxes, a notebook, and a bad case of amnesia?

---

The sun went down an hour ago. I'm sitting in my small shelter, illuminated by torches. The notebook and quill are on my lap. I'd been thinking for a while.

This is where I am now. It seems that certain things trigger vague memories, but there's nothing I can do. I don't want to stay at spawn, the cave is pretty but 0.0 is cold and lifeless. I have that itch to explore, the the world is telling me to find myself. To find home.

I pick up the quill and title to book "Star's Adventure Log".

I open to the first page.

Day 1
Explored the cave at spawn, got some iron
and glow squid ink. Got wrecked by a skeleton
a good few times. I'm leaving though, I want to
find some snowy Mountains. This cave opens
into a massive lush cave with axolotls, it's a
shame I'm leaving so soon. I'll follow the river.

Yeah, that feels right. I'm not sure where the though of mountains came from, but it's a good place to start.