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Inches, moments away from reaching their treasure, Parrot and Theo hid behind a boulder off to the side of the giant entrance to the Tomb. A group of treasure hunters stood infront of the doors, contemplating and discussing how they could get inside.
Parrot wasn't pleased with the idea of them jumping the two, or with having another set of players that would make their expedition more difficult, like they always did. It was getting tiring.
Maybe they wouldn't be that big of an issue, or they would just perish to the Tomb's traps, given them almost deciding on mining through the obviously trapped doors. He kinda pitied those players, keyword– kinda.
Though he wasn't scared, not even close. He's learned most there is to learn about this server and its players, and he was used to experiences like this. Nothing new, just the same old repetitive story. As if he was stuck in a loop of sorts. Going through the same things just different settings.
While the players were discussing their plans, and Coine was trying his best to deter them from just straight up breaking in– poor guy –Parrot was overcome with a sense of dread and doom. Something was coming. Something was here
His heartbeat rose exponentially, pounding in his chest, his ears started to ring. The other players must've felt the same, he heard concern in their now muffled voices. Muffled by the ringing in his ears. Okay, this was not normal. Something was extremely wrong.
Theo must've felt it too, because when Parrot turned to look at him, his eyes were wide open, also looking at him. His vision darkened with the pounding headache, feeling like he was seconds from passing out, practically panting.
Then everything went back to normal, except for one thing.
There was somebody here.
What was previously just an armour set, turned into a full figure quickly. They drank milk to remove their invis. A strange move on their part, Parrot wondered why that may be.
Cyan and black horns peaked out from holes in their helmet, the figure stood tall, with an entire set of netherite armour. Their helmet's visor entierly covering their face.
A familair symbol carved out on the chestplate. The structure of their whole set, a kind of set he would never forget.
A quartz eye stared at the now scared bandits.
They were a mafia memeber. They– or she was here. The person from the book.
And she was here for those hunters.
Parrots heart continued to slam against his ribs as the player flew up into the Ends sky, he had to do something and he had to do it quick.
Gripping the edge of his seat, Parrot waited for Herobane to reveal who won the bet. Terrified of losing all of his belongings.
When the barriers dropped so did his heart. Rasplin had a better hand, the only better hand.
Now he's not getting neither his items nor the key to The Tomb. This couldn't have been real, could it?
"What?–" he called out, ready to try and plead his way out of this, do something, anything to save his case
Before he could even start, the same feeling of dread and doom overtook him.
Confused calls came from the room as his vision became spotty, near blacking out for the second time today.
She came here for the keycard that she's lost. A situation he might not live this time because of his predicament.
Slowly backing up from the table, the suffocating silence got cut with the sound of heavy metal hitting the floor and the horrific sound of a skull cracking into pieces.
How could anyone have even reacted to that? The mace came crashing down at seemingly light speed. His heart raced, his head was aching and Parrot was genuinely terrified.
Scrambling to the corner of the room, before digging out Parrot took one last glance behind him.
There stood Marlow, staring straight at him, blood dripping from her armour. The purplish netherite splattered with a dark red.
He's never ran faster. She didn't chase.
Everything in his body screamed at him, voices muddled and overlapping, both to run and stay, to get those items and that this will be the death of him. Parrot stood behind the stone, unmoving, bow drawn.
He was doing this no matter what it costs. He needed to, he had no choice. Even though he really could just turn back
This server needs saving. These player needed his help, they were good people, constantly harassed by the strong pvp-ers, corrupted leaders, bandits. He had to do something.
So he stood there patiently, hiding out of sight, waiting to put his plan into action.
For the first time, he could actually see her, hear her, expect her. The impending sense of doom not present when she approached, casually flying in to get into the Tomb.
The monster that murdered all these helpless players. Rasplin wasn't the best, he didnt feel too bad about his death, but he was just another survivor of this cruel world.
Despite the previous effects she had on him and the others whenever she was about to strike that were now absent, his heart was in his throat. But Parrot was ready, and he's come too far to back away now.
The monsters armour still stained and colored with red, now looking more brown than before, it reflected the stars above. Before she got to do anything, another player came from behind.
Another foolish explorer trying to enter the Tomb and steal from it. That poor soul, he hadn't even managed to blink before Marlow quickly turned behind her and struck the player, killing them.
Refreshing the blood on her armour. She stared at their bleeding out body for a moment, and came back to do what she was originally planning.
She took out her keycard.
Parrot aimed at her and let go off the arrow.
It flew all the way from the rock and lodged itself in her side, knocking her away from the keycard reader and making her drop the piece of paper. Bingo
Theo swooped in to get the card and they ran, seperating in the process. His heartbeat pounded in his chest, he was going to get into that Tomb.
The duo walked through the overgrown hallways. Beautiful carved stone covered in green vines, moss and grass.
This was a maze, they both realized that quickly. And they had to solve it fast.
It was quiet here, eerily quiet. Not a single sign of player activity in who knows how long. Marlow's must've been guarding this place incredibly long.
Made him wonder how much Ash paid her to stay here for so long. Was materialistic gain really worth all these lives? Parrot was disgusted by the sheer thought.
This place was ridiculously huge, the hallways stretching on and on and on.
They pondered how come this place is so big, yet they haven't ran into any traps, not even any other guards.
And as soon as that was said, there it was again.
An awful persistent sense of impending doom. For the third time, Parrot has almost gone blind, expiriencing the same killer headache and the ear shattering ringing.
She was here. She was here and they had nowhere to run. Parrot stood behind one of the arches while Theo took a spot in the middle of the hall. They both looked around, even though they werent able to see.
The blindness gave way, a monsterous being stood ahead of them. She wasn't afraid of being seen, she never wanted to hide, it was clear since the start. She wanted to be seen. She wasn't afraid of them.
Parrot hated how Theo told him to run, Parrot hated that he did. He told himself Theo would've been fine. He was supposed to be the one sacrificing himself for the good of others, not the other way around. Theo couldn't die so soon, and he wont.
He won't.
Parrot ran fast, so fast his legs hurt, so fast he couldn't hear anything other than his pulse. His talons scraping the brick underneath.
He needs to get those items.
Finally. After everything. After Theo's death, after the death of all those people, after so much running.
The gate stood right infront of him. Two diamond player statues on its sides. Relief washed over him as he got ready to approach them, to view them closely.
Carved into them was an eye, staring, watching. Parrot felt insane thinking they could see him.
He cautiously stepped closer and closer, closing the distance between himself and the gates.
Huge flames lit up the area. The gateway slightly ajar, so easy to slip into. A quick stealthy in and out.
Then it hit him. For the fourth time. And Parrot felt like throwing up. She murdered his friend in cold blood and was here to do the same to him.
He was terrified, he had to get out, equipping his dead friends elytra on his wings and flew as far away as possible. Further into the Tomb, but not closer to the gateway.
Barely able to see his surroundings Parrot hit a few things on the way, tumbling down into a cave-like tunnel. With nowhere else to go he descended down into it.
Slowly, from a cave it turned into a decorated corridor. Lined with deepslate and soul lanterns perched every couple of blocks.
This was weird, it looked nothing like the previous hallways. He wearily made his way through. The tunnel winding down further and further, turn after turn after turn. His heart hasnt stopped beating like it was about to rip it's way open through his chest.
Another turn, and this time— it led somewhere.
Pink cherry wood covered walls was not something Parrot wouldve ever expected from a place like this. The room was neatly decorated, with a pink and white color scheme. Stuff placed all around like someone lived there. Not messy, just lived in.
Strange.
He turned around to see booksheleves on the walls. Title-less books filling the shelves, though not all of them were filled.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he picked one of them up– the very first one –and read through it.
It was a journal. He picked up another, then another, then another.
All this time. Was he wrong? But Theo was dead. So couldn't have been.
Then he read another one– Theo was alive. His friend who he thought he'd never see again was alive.
After reading the last book he gently placed it back on its spot and turned around.
Behind him stood Marlow. The beast who he feared and despised this whole time. Their helmets visor was up, no longer hiding her face.
She looked just like he did, in a way. Exhausted. Scared. Scars littering her face, eyebags under her eyes.
Her eyes looked almost dead, boring into his.
For the first time out of all of the times he's seen her, he wasnt scared. And for the first time he noticed just how human she looked, his perception of her shifting. He felt terrible, he was terrible.
They stared at each other in silence, before Parrot got the courage to speak up.
It was quiet, almost a whisper "You... You never actually wanted to kill anyone." She didnt say anything back. "You were just doing it to protect other people"
A spark of relief in her eyes, like she needed to hear it from someone other than herself. Parrot realized she was no monster. He was so, so wrong. And he briefly wondered if he was wrong about other people too, his thoughts interrupted by the walls around them opening up to reveal thousands of chambers.
She stared for him for a little while longer, then headed in. Walking inbetween the chambers. He followed suit, looking around. Unable to believe what he was seeing.
These chambers, all of them, had other people's pearls in them. Ready to fire off as soon as someone touched even a singular item in the Tomb. Horrific.
He paused, turning to the girl who just continued walking.
"Marlow?" He called out after her, no reaction. "Where are you going?"
But he didn't chase after her. Feeling as if that wasn't the right thing to do.
Right then and there Parrot has decided that he's not taking a single item, never again. What he needed to do now is get out of here. To not disturb Marlow any longer.
One day, he promised, one day she'll get her peace.